Offshore windfarm

Scotland can be self sufficient in renewable energy IF we get the backup from Westminster ...its not a devolved issue so when they pulled the plug on projects there was bugger all we could do about it .We still have a moratorium on Fracking though so that wont happen here, for which I am very grateful.We live on a fault line and fracking would be disastrous for us

In other words the jury is out.
I don't think it is.

Perhaps from something which doesn't need quite so much waste management?

It is not an either or, its a question of both. If the wind stops blowing, or doesn't blow at all, where do you get your power from?

The cost of demolishing and cleaning the Dounreay site will be £2.32 Billion by the time it is complete in 2033.

The most deadly waste, which could be made to make a bomb, is being flown to the USA from John o Groats airport, Wick, in exchange for imported radioactive material which is said to be used medically.

However, the runways at Wick are too short for the Globemaster planes carrying the highly dangerous waste to take off fully fuelled (nobody checked, apparently) so the planes have to land again at Lossiemouth on the Moray Firth to top up on fuel before heading for the US.

www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/highlands/1469643/deadly-nuclear-waste-flights-resume-from-wick/

I can't remember whose quote this is, but I agree we do not inherit the earth from our parents, we borrow it from our children. Therefore windpower gets my vote.

Global warning has been caused by burning hydrocarbons for industry, heating and electricity generation. 10,000s, if not 100,000s of people have already died in extreme weather events caused by Global warning, while the number of people who have died in the past and are dying still from the gross air pollution in cities and industrial areas caused by these fuels must run into millions.

The very small cancer peaks around nuclear facilities have been investigated many times and there is no clear evidence that it is specifically related to the radiation. Some studies do, but others have related it to the sudden influx and high mobility of workers into areas, that until their arrival had been quiet rural areas with little mixing with other groups. Other researchers have found similar peaks in other areas. In other words the jury is out.

Either way, compared with the human devastation of using hydro carbons, the danger around nuclear plants is minimal.

Not nuclear energy.

There are cancer and leukaemia clusters in areas near to nuclear power stations.

Unfortunately, we don't have much say in their construction.

Yes. Perfect. Clean nuclear energy.

Well, it will be once we learn how to deal with 50 years of past hazardous waste and come up with a brand new ultra-safe scheme for the future.

The simple answer is nuclear power.

Off shore wind farms are very expensive, the cost per unit is reflected in our electricity bills in the name of being carbon free. Their main drawback is that an equal amount of other power ( coal, gas, nuclear etc) has also to be built to use when there is no wind or in fact too much wind

Solar power in the UK also has the same problem so we are paying twice, it would be interesting to know just how much these renewable schemes really cost the UK.

When fossil fuels do run out and they will, future generations will have to use much less energy, their lives will be very different.

I wonder also just how cost-effective wind turbines are and how reliable.

I do think that wave, tidal, hydro power could be a better way forward to manage our energy needs in the future.

Wind turbines have down time, breakdown, have to be maintained. The National Grid have to take all renewable energy before they take hydrocarbon generated power.

The biggest problem with wind is that it is unreliable, In the sense that some days it can supply nearly 25% of our energy, on other days, including those long sunny bitterly cold days we get in winter, it will produce only 2 or 3%. It can also be fitful depending on the speed of sudden gusts or sudden lulls.

Conventional power plants are not designed to be switched on and off like a fan heater as a result they have to be kept ticking over so that they can come on as soon as wind power drops. That means burning gas to keep them ready while not producing energy. That is the other side of wind power. The gas burnt to cope with its unreliability.

P.S It's not uncommon to see a few motionless turbines when all the rest are whirling away...

I'm conflicted about wind turbines. They provide necessary energy but they use quite a lot of energy in their construction and they do spoil the view... We have a lot in our area as it's very hilly but one place there aren't any is the Wear Valley (a lot of the moorland is Arab owned and I suspect that they don't particularly want them). The view across the valley to the moors is lovely without any turbines..

I was very sad about the Swansea Bay scheme being turned down. It seemed like such a good idea and not as obtrusive as turbines. Did the locals like it?

(For some obscure reason I rather like pylons)

Jalima
Sometimes the grid can't store anymore electricity.
We sometimes had to turn them off as it would have boiled our very expensive batteries.

I don't have a problem with wind farms either but here in France they are unpopular. Local people are always demonstrating and complaining about them.

I don't know why we can't harness more wave power. Hydro-electricity is a good way forward - why on earth the government turned down the Swansea Bay Tidal Lagoon project I do not know.

Very often we see wind turbines sitting idle - is that by design or just lack of wind?

I think that every new house should have solar panels as a matter of course, too.

henetha
Simples: energy companies have too much power.
That wasn't a play on words

Totally agree. We should be embracing all forms of renewable energy, water saving, solar panels on roofs, etc..
Why don't we do more? It's a puzzle to me.

SueDonim
I've been banging on about this for years. Plus tanks built in the foundations of houses to collect waste water to be used in toilets.

I agree about the mandatory solar panels. There were quite a few new ones in this area recently, but some people who are tenants have suggested that many of the solar panels are not actually functional. I'm not sure whether that's because of connection problems but I hope it gets fixed. We've also had word that small hydro electric schemes are making a comeback and that - too - is very appropriate for Scotland's resources.

Caledonail I can imagine we all might have mini-windmills at some point in the future - those of us in gusty Scotland, at any rate!

I think solar panels should be mandatory in all new-builds, too.

Love them!!!
As someone who lived off grid for 20 years with 2 wind generators and solar panels and had every modern convenience, and has solar panels on our motohome you can imagine how strongly I feel about alternative energy.
What is not mentioned is the fact that fish stocks are building up massively within these wind farms.
Now we have to put money into tidal power, we are an island with 2 tides a day!!!

DH played a major part in the construction of the new Walney windfarm, He did all the calculations to make sure that everything to be towed out to site was properly loaded on the barges and then lifted and placed in position safely.

He had the webcams of the yard showing on his pc at home to keep an eye on things, not to mention standing on a cold windy dockside watching.

I was just about to say that about pylons too, I love cheese. I think they are much better than the alternatives, such as fracking.