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mr.underwood · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 7:58 pm Post subject: Electricity

Becky,Loch Lomond have had a similar setup for many years.

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Becky · Roll and chips Joined: 18 Apr 2009 Posts: 61

james73 · Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 3:31 pm Post subject:

THE Whitelee windfarm at Eaglesham Moor is part of a huge drive towards
green energy in Scotland. Russell Leadbetter reports in Day Two of our
special series

IT knocks people off their feet and can send slates flying off roofs.

There's no doubt Scotland is a windy country - so much so that green
energy trade body Scottish renewables claims it has a quarter of Europe's
entire "wind resource".

The wind, and other renewable energy sources, are increasingly
important in Scotland.

Yesterday, as he launched his party's European election campaign, SNP
leader Alex Salmond declared: "We are developing groundbreaking
technology which will put Scotland at the forefront of Europe's renewable
revolution and create 16,000 green jobs in Scotland over the next
decade."

The First Minister had earlier said that Scotland had a "quarter of Europe's
tidal and offshore wind energy resource, and a world class scientific
capacity and skills base".

He said green energy could be Scotland's way out of the economic
downturn.

He said: "Offshore renewables are set to deliver an economic boost as
significant as North Sea oil. We have plans to generate 50% of Scotland's
electricity from renewable sources by 2020, and beyond that we have the
ability to create enough power to meet the nation's energy demand up to
10 times over."

The first UK windfarm was built in 1991 and there are now more than 200
in operation, with a total of nearly 2500 turbines.

The British Wind Energy Association says all these projects mean that
3,830,937 fewer tonnes of CO2 are being poured into the atmosphere.

According to the Department for Transport figures, the average car in the
UK produces 2.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

Whitelee's CO2 emission savings alone are in the region of 500,000
tonnes a year - equivalent to taking more than 200,000 cars off the road.

Two years ago, wind energy in the UK overhauled hydro-power as the
largest renewable generation source.

In Scotland, wind-energy's capacity of 1418MW outstrips hydro's 1383MW.
Whitelee's capacity of 322MW is a quarter of hydro's total capacity in
Scotland.

"Ten years ago," says Alan Mortimer, of ScottishPower Renewables,
"hydro generated 10% of Scotland's electricity.

"Since then, wind has come a long way and now accounts for another 10%.

"But when you look at all the developments that have received planning
consent, or are about to be built by 2011, we should comfortably be at
31% total renewable electricity in Scotland.

"To be at 50% by 2020 will still be a challenge. But the right things are
largely being done to achieve that."

When the winds billow over the isolated moor, they rotate the blades on
each turbine. The blades are linked to a gear-box, which is linked to a
generator, which sends the power output to a transformer.

The transformer converts the electricity from the generator to the correct
voltage for the distribution system. Two large sub-stations at Whitelee
feed the power into the national grid, but the energy produced here all
goes to the local area.

On the rare days when there's no wind at Whitelee, the slack is taken up
by SPR windfarms from Cornwall to Caithness.

James H
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wee minx · Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 10:54 pm Post subject:

I passed by there today, what a shock, I had no idea it was so extensive, not sure what I think about it just now...time will tell I suppose. I certainly wouldn't want to be looking out my window at them , that's for sure.

I couldn' fit them all in , there were just too many

Stuball · Posted: Thu May 14, 2009 11:35 pm Post subject:

I wouldnt mind seeing them out my window on the horizon.... not as if you can see anything beyond them except sky
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cybers · Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 4:01 am Post subject:

I once spent an entire day wandering round the local one and i have to admit I like them.
Getting up close and hearing the whoosh whoosh whoosh noise as they turned was calming.
and to think these things are recovering in a week all the damage i do in 20 mins...
Not too sure how they are going to stand up to some of the more blustery days though... You might wake up with one embeded in the roof.

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wee minx · Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 10:33 am Post subject:

james73 · Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 11:31 am Post subject:

When the wind blows . . . (Evening Times)

RUSSELL LEADBETTER ends our series on the Whitelee windfarm. Today
we look at the ecological benefits of the site - and talk to two residents
about their opposing views of the high-profile, £300m project

IN or around the year 2034, the turbines at the Whitelee windfarm may
be coming to the end of their natural life-span.

But David MacArthur, ecologist with ScottishPower Renewables, is
confident that there will be a meaningful legacy for wildlife.

Whitelee's Habitat Management Area covers more than 24 square
kilometres, or 2,480 hectares - making it SPR's largest in the UK.

Before the dumper trucks and the mechanical diggers descended on
Eaglesham Moor in 2006, the place was a combination of blanket bog,
commercial forestry, and open heathland.

Blanket bogs are a valuable ecosystem that was badly damaged when
they were drained, and planted with non-native conifers.

When construction work began at Whitelee, millions of cubic metres of
rock were removed from pits on the site and used in roads and
construction.

More than two million non-native conifers were also removed to allow the
moorland and blanket bog to regenerate.

The aim was to boost the area's biodiversity and attract upland birds such
as red grouse and the common snipe.

David said: "We also had to bear in mind that Whitelee is a key site for
the black grouse, a bird whose UK numbers are under threat."

As he watched a couple of short-eared owls chase each other across the
open moorland, he said: "Assuming that the turbines aren't replaced in 25
years' time, and that the wind-farm has done its job after generating
green energy for those 25 years, the legacy that will be left here will be
an enhanced habitat for wildlife.

James H
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james73 · Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 1:22 pm Post subject:

£100-a-year bills for hi-tech homes (Evening Times)

ECO friendly houses - which could bring annual energy bills down to just £100 - are
to be built in Glasgow.

The design includes solar technology, hi-tech thermostats to maintain an even
temperature all-year round and a higher level of insulation.

The Glasgow Housing Association are behind the two-year pilot project which
will see ten families living in different house types.

Tenants will have their energy usage monitored for a year in their current home,
then move to a new build home where consumption is expected to be massively
lower.

The current average annual heating and water costs for a GHA tenant in a
three-bedroom house is £777.

GHA are working in partnership with PRP Architects Ltd to build ten properties
in the south of the city for the pilot, due to start this summer.

James H
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james73 · Posted: Wed May 20, 2009 1:28 pm Post subject:

Salmond helps windfarm edge closer to completion (Evening Times)

FIRST Minister Alex Salmond today helped the £300million windfarm at
Eaglesham Moor take a step nearer completion.

He joined ScottishPower chairman Ignacio Sanchez Galán celebrate the
imminent finish of the project by switching on one of the last of the initial
140 turbines.

Mr Salmond has spoken enthusiastically of the potential of green energy -
and says it could be Scotland's way out of the economic downturn.

Whitelee Windfarm, Europe's largest onshore wind power project, will be
capable of producing up to 322 megawatts of electricity - enough to power
more than 180,000 homes.

ScottishPower Renewables aims to add another 36 turbines, which would
increase the output by up to 130 megawatts, taking the total up to 452MW.

A £2million, high-tech visitor centre is being built, the first of its kind in
the UK. Once completed in the summer, it will house an exhibition explaining
how the windfarm was built, and an education hub where trained staff will talk
about windfarms and renewable energy.

Tours of the site will be available, and there are plans to introduce eco-friendly
buses, powered by electricity generated from the site.

Some 90km of roads and tracks that criss-cross Whitelee will eventually be
improved and opened up to cyclists and ramblers.

James H

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