Government throws its weight behind wind farms

[degrom]

The Government is set to unveil measures making it easier to build wind farms and less attractive to build new fossil-fuelled electricity plants in its draft national energy strategy today.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10414796&ref=rss

[degrom]

The Government is set to unveil measures making it easier to build wind farms and less attractive to build new fossil-fuelled electricity plants in its draft national energy strategy today.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10414796&ref=rss

Promoting wind farms is the first step in making us a great example for the rest of the world to follow in out footsteps.

I am also glad that the government announced the laws on car emissions that will force old cars that smoke a lot to be fixed or taken of the road.

Would be nice if they promoted bikes a bit more. Things like cheaper yearly registration fees on bikes would be a great start!!!

[bugjuice]

what are they going to do? Stand in front of the windmills, spouting off their promises for the next election?

[Colapop]

Wind farms are great and wonderful but the reality is that they are not going to produce enough electricity to effectively ease the current or future predicted energy shortages. Don't get me wrong - I like wind farms. Unfortunately there just aren't the number of sites around NZ that we'll need to construct the large scale wind farm projects that would be needed.

The government would be better to support photovoltaic energy converters on every household in NZ with community based voltage converter and storage facilities.

There is also Geothermal which is grossly underutilised but that is changing.

[Pixie]

Promoting wind farms is the first step in making us a great example for the rest of the world to follow in out footsteps.



Nationalistic bullshit!

Windfarms have been around in Europe and America for decades.And having found that even on grids that cover vast regions,where wind fluctuations balance out,wind power has major deficiencies,they are now decomissioning wind farms and looking to the only power source that will save the planet - nuclear power

[degrom]

Nationalistic bullshit!

Windfarms have been around in Europe and America for decades.And having found that even on grids that cover vast regions,where wind fluctuations balance out,wind power has major deficiencies,they are now decomissioning wind farms and looking to the only power source that will save the planet - nuclear power

So when are NZ putting up their first nuclear power plant? :dodge:

[ManDownUnder]

I maintain... we need to focus on using what we have more efficiently, before building new plant.

Solar hot water heating retrofitted to housing would be a good, and simple start. Drop consumption of energy, and the need to build new plant falls too.

Why is this so hard for people to get their head around?

[degrom]

I maintain... we need to focus on using what we have more efficiently, before building new plant.

Solar hot water heating retrofitted to housing would be a good, and simple start. Drop consumption of energy, and the need to build new plant falls too.

Why is this so hard for people to get their head around?

Because they are use to wasting energy and old habits die hard!!! :shutup:

[Pixie]

So when are NZ putting up their first nuclear power plant? :dodge:

Not for the forseeable future,while hippies run the country

168 nuclear reactors are expected to start up by 2020
most in asia, "our" region
New Scientist - 16/9/2006

[degrom]

I think the only way to make people use less energy is to take it away from them...

Just look at how well people managed to survive in times of depression before and after the world war's.(That also the time when people were forced to be more innovative)

Less energy might mean less food and less o-beast children!!!

[LilSel]

There is also Geothermal which is grossly underutilised but that is changing.

It most certainly is...
http://www.mightyriverpower.co.nz/

Have a look at the first article there regarding Geothermal :yes: :yes: :yes:
$275 Million $$ Geothermal power plant...

[Colapop]

I could tell you about a projected 10 geothermal power plants proposed... But then I'd have to kill you

[LilSel]

Also... Windfarms are bad for people living within a proximity to them... Causing health problems...
The low frequency noise they emit travels for miles (air AND vibration thru the ground) and people within a couple of miles end up suffering from a range of symptoms from headaches, migraines, nausea, dizziness, palpitations and tinnitus to sleep disturbance, stress, anxiety and depression.

Soooo.... Wind Farms may sound nice n healthy n clean etc... but dont you think there is enough problems already in NZ??

Stressed.... depressed... anxious... sleep deprived people with migraines doesnt sound very appealing IMO...:done:

[LilSel]

I could tell you about a projected 10 geothermal power plants proposed... But then I'd have to kill you

I could tell you a lot too ;) ... But your right... then I'd have to kill you :innocent: :shutup: :shutup:

[Switch]

I think wind farms are a great idea, but then again, i also think the new fusion power plants will be impressive...but like Pixie said, not while the hippies are running around. :innocent:

[ManDownUnder]

I could tell you about a projected 10 geothermal power plants proposed... But then I'd have to kill you

So if I give you some names - can you tell them?

[Lou Girardin]

So when are NZ putting up their first nuclear power plant? :dodge:

It's against our religion.

[davereid]

Its very unlikely NZ will go nuclear, at least with current technology. Its nothing to do with nukes=bad. Its just that nuclear power plants have both a maximum output, and you guessed it a minimum. At night time NZs load drops below the practical lowest output of a nuke power station.

Wind power looks great on paper, but without greenhouse "kyoto" credits its actually not very cost effective. Thats because a typical wind generator is massive, costs a lot to build and a lot to maintain. It has a limited life, and all the expensive materials made to use it were mined and processed using fossil fuels. And after you have done all that, its only good for about 1-1.5 Mw.

By comparison, racing V8 motors make half of that and you can just go and buy a diesel that will make 80 Mw using fossil fuels, or biodiesels.

Solar power is similar. Useful for water heating, but in photovoltaic form very inefficient. I've heard it said that more fossil fuel goes into the manufacture of a photovoltaic array than it will produce during its life span.

The greenies will ensure we dont get much more hydro, so I think NZ faces a real crisis. Aussie currently use coal as the major fuel source. Of course they will be able to go nuclear and get abundant cheap power. We will find it much harder.

[WINJA]

So when are NZ putting up their first nuclear power plant? :dodge:

ITS THE ONLY VIABLE AND GREEN ALTERNATIVE , BRING IT ON

[Colapop]

So if I give you some names - can you tell them?
This month only 2 for 1 special...

[Ixion]

Its very unlikely NZ will go nuclear, at least with current technology. Its nothing to do with nukes=bad. Its just that nuclear power plants have both a maximum output, and you guessed it a minimum. At night time NZs load drops below the practical lowest output of a nuke power station.

.

So, at night use the "extra" power to pump water BACK up into the hydro dams. The power effectively costs nothing and then next day the water can be run through again to generate more electricity. Sorted.

[WINJA]

I Was Thinking Of Putting A Prop On A Car Alternator Via Gearbox To Produce My Own Electricity Then Storing It In A Few Marine Batteries And Then Putting It Trhu An Inverter , Id Like To Give The Power Companys The 2 Fingers , We Have A Lot Of Power Cuts Here And I Bought A 850 Watt Generator From Bunnings , We Had A Power Cut And I Supplied All Our Power Needs Except Water Heating Off That One Generator For The Night And It Only Use $2 Worth Of Petrol

[davereid]

Yep, I've got a 3kw lombardini diesel genset, and I can run it for about $0.20 per kw/hr - not much more than grid electricity. I have to pay for oil and filters, but then again I dont have to pay $1 day connection charge.

Not that I actually use it at home... !

[James Deuce]

If they throw Parakura Horomia behind them we're all doomed.

[jeremysprite]

a) whoever said Fusion power plants would work, stop watching Spiderman and read a science text book lol
b) Aside from minimum output of a nuclear reactor, NZ can't afford to run one
c) putting all those PVC (photov. cell) things on everyone's roofs and solar heating etc is EXPENSIVE. People would rather pay $0.25 kw/hr(or whatever the measurement is) than $0.15 kw/hr +$25,000 per household for techo gadgets.

[Hitcher]

Wind farms are bullshit. They're expensive to build and a blot on the landscape -- ecovandalism at its finest. Like prisons, mental institutions and state houses, most New Zealanders will claim to be blissfully in love with them, until somebody wants to build them next door. They are nothing more than a sop to the diesel-SUV-driving kindy mums. There are more cost-effective and less obtrusive ways of generating electricity.

And don't get me started on biofuels.

[James Deuce]

c) putting all those PVC (photov. cell) things on everyone's roofs and solar heating etc is EXPENSIVE. People would rather pay $0.25 kw/hr(or whatever the measurement is) than $0.15 kw/hr +$25,000 per household for techo gadgets.

That's easily covered by the tax surplus. They won't do it because the Govt owned transmission company would go broke over night. It's one thing they could do to reduce carbon emissions right NOW.

I get sun all day, and even when it is pouring with rain photo-voltaic cells produce 2-20% of their max rated output depending on season. A few marine batteries in the garage and you'd only be touching the national grid in long periods of bad weather and the depths of Winter.

Add a small wind generator in places like Wellington and Palmerston North and you've really got it covered.

[degrom]

That's easily covered by the tax surplus. They won't do it because the Govt owned transmission company would go broke over night. It's one thing they could do to reduce carbon emissions right NOW.

I get sun all day, and even when it is pouring with rain photo-voltaic cells produce 2-20% of their max rated output depending on season. A few marine batteries in the garage and you'd only be touching the national grid in long periods of bad weather and the depths of Winter.

Add a small wind generator in places like Wellington and Palmerston North and you've really got it covered.

Wind generator's are cheap!!!!

http://www.jaycar.co.nz/productView.asp?ID=MG4510&CATID=&keywords=wind+power&SPECIAL=&form=KEYWORD&ProdCodeOnly=&Keyword1=&Keyword2=&pageNumber=&priceMin=&priceMax=&SUBCATID=

[jeremysprite]

That's easily covered by the tax surplus.

Still don't see the monetary benefit to us...

But I see your point. An 75-80% sufficent house wouldn't cost that much to set up, 'specially if you live near a river/creek, or very windy.

On another note, I was thinking today, wouldn't a wind turbine on a hybrid car be great for efficiency? Although it wouldn't be perpetual motion, it could recharge the batteries.

[Biff]

Wind farms are bloody great. I lived on the edge of one once. The yocals kicked up a stink before they were erected, saying they would be an eye sore and noisy. Once they went up pretty much everyone realised they were talking shite. They hardly made a whisper and look quite cool against the skyline.

[Biff]

Nationalistic bullshit!

Windfarms have been around in Europe ...they are now decomissioning wind farms

Not in the UK they're not. They're popping up all over the place. I was there last week, first time in over a year - I saw three new ones along the M4 corridor, powering local industrial sites and the surrounding towns.

[Ralph]

Its very unlikely NZ will go nuclear, at least with current technology. Its nothing to do with nukes=bad. Its just that nuclear power plants have both a maximum output, and you guessed it a minimum. At night time NZs load drops below the practical lowest output of a nuke power station.


Well put, Not to mention it would take about 30yrs to sort out the policies, before the first brick was laid.

What about MCT's Marine Current turbines? Not a huge output like a few kW's but can we really be that picky? There must be a few sites around NZ that these would suit.
Cheaper than wind to install and run from what I hear.

[Whynot]

Well put, Not to mention it would take about 30yrs to sort out the policies, before the first brick was laid.

What about MCT's Marine Current turbines? Not a huge output like a few kW's but can we really be that picky? There must be a few sites around NZ that these would suit.
Cheaper than wind to install and run from what I hear.

like this .... ?
http://stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3896680a11,00.html

[ManDownUnder]

Not in the UK they're not. They're popping up all over the place. I was there last week, first time in over a year - I saw three new ones along the M4 corridor, powering local industrial sites and the surrounding towns.

Ditto Denmark and Germany. They're loving the things... build build build