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Transcript of Wiring up the Wind: long wires, short wires or no wires at all? > ESRC Seminar Series Pushing the...
“Wiring up the Wind: long wires, short wires or no wires at
all?”
> ESRC Seminar Series “Pushing the limits of wind power” University of St Andrews 6th May 2009
Dr Dick BirnieThe Macaulay Land Use Research InstituteAberdeen, Scotland
“Are centralised, distributed or off-grid solutions the best way forward?”
THE LONG WIRE SOLUTION
16,850 pylons
Is grid connection the best option?
THE LONG WIRE SOLUTION
Wind energy debate in UK is mostly about electricity supply
Should be seen in the wider context of our total energy economy
What are its key features?
© BERR Department for Business Enterprise & Regulatory Affairs
UK ENERGY FLOWS 2007
Primary Supply Million tonnes of oil
equivalent (mtoe)
Conversion and distribution
losses (mtoe)
Petroleum products
173
Natural gas 101
Coal 40
Electricity (16) 70
333
21%
ENERGY USE
Main energy use sectors
Million tonnes of oil equivalent
Notes
Transport 60
Domestic 44 82% space heating & hot water
Industry 32
Others 20
Conversion & Distribution losses
related to electricity
70
KEY POINTS
Centralised generation is about 40% efficient
CHP is about 85% efficient
Problem of being locked into a centralised grid infrastructure: take opportunities now!
Domestic heat is an important use
Argument for a more distributed energy system in the UK is more to do with heat than power
KEY POINTS
Potential for regional CHP solutions with smart grid technologies?
Wind fits within this more distributed approach
THE SHORT WIRE SOLUTION
16,850 pylons
Opportunities for more localised approaches?
Should every house have a wind turbine?
Scope for microgeneration?
THE SHORT WIRE SOLUTION
16,850 pylons
Microgeneration
generation of electricity and/or heat on a small scale using technologies with zero or low carbon dioxide emissions (SE 2007)
COSTS & PAYBACK PERIODS
16,850 pylons
Technology Typical costs (£)
Payback period (yrs)
Wind - roof 1,500 - 7 - 19
Wind - mast 11,000 - 19,000 7 - 19
Solar PV 7,500 - 22,500 35 - 48
Hydro 20,000 - 25,000 n/a
Solar hot water 3,000 - 5,000 8 - 20
Heat Pump - ground 6,000 - 12,000 8 - 15
Heat Pump – air 7,000 - 10,000 8 - 15
Biomass – stove 2,000 - 4,000 6 - 20
Biomass- boiler 5,000 - 14,000 6 - 20
KEY POINTS
Wind does not stack up at a domestic level unless other actions are taken
Payback periods are relatively long and roof mounted systems are unlikely to be cost-effective
Scaling is critical with wind energy
LOCATION & SIZE
Power is a function of the swept area and the cube of the wind speed.
Double the wind speed: eight times the power output
LOCATION & SIZE
Turbine at site with 5 m/s average wind speed will produce twice as much power as site 4 m/s average.
Location and size matter!
Golding, E. W. (1961) Wind as a source of energy in Scotland. pp. 468-477. In: Natural Resources in Scotland, Scottish Council for Development and Industry, Constable, Edinburgh
KEY POINTS
Use of hot water systems: fits much more with domestic energy demands
Scaling is critical with wind energy. A few larger turbines would potentially be far more energy efficient
Potential for local co-operatives or energy companies?
THE NO WIRE SOLUTION
16,850 pylons
Scope for “off-line” thinking?
LINKING HEAT, POWER & TRANSPORT
Opportunities for connecting distributed CHP with transport solutions?
Regionalised power points
KEY POINTS
ARGUMENT for seeing our energy economy in an integrated way
Not one solution: different solutions in different places
Regionalising the energy economy opens up new possibilities for CHP and integrated low carbon transport solutions
Challenges are both technical and behavioural
LOOK FOR INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS
“ The right wind, in the right places for the right reasons!”
© Marsailidh Aspinall