Arecleoch Wind Farm | Mary and Angus Hogg.
While British people can’t afford to warm their own homes in winter some Scottish wind turbines are being rotated and de-iced with warmth from diesel generators which also leaked some 4,000L of diesel. Since this was due to a cabling fault, presumably the other shivering wind turbines are maintained with mains power?
If giant turbine blades sit still too long, the bearings can generate permanent Brinelling damage. Alternately micro-oscillations or vibrations can cause False Brinelling. Small metal fragments then grind more of the metal around it, reduce efficiency, and increase the friction, the heat and the fire risk. It’s a couple of the hidden costs of maintaining a vast network of infrastructure to collect low density energy. Coal turbines must be slowly rotated too, to avoid the shaft bending, but coal turbines run for months at a stretch without stopping. One coal turbine can weigh up to 600 tons, but wind turbines nacelles usually weigh 100-300 tons, but can weigh up to 700 tons)*. The largest wind turbine blades can weigh 35 tons each. The power-to-maintenance ratio of wind turbines is absurd.
The wind turbine industry today is like the jet engine industry of the 1950s. It will take decades of work to fine tune it and figure out true maintenance costs. The difference between jets and wind turbines is that in 1950 we knew we needed jets, but wind turbines are only useful in the fantasy land of junk climate models.
If ever there was proof that wind power is a national security issue, a rort, and a risk…
Dozens of Scottish Wind Turbines Powered by Diesel Generators, Pour Hydraulic Oil Into Countryside
Jack Montgomery, Breitbart
Scottish Power — led by a Spaniard, Ignacio Galan, and actually a subsidiary of Spanish firm Iberdrola — conceded that some 71 of its turbines had to be hooked up to diesel generators to keep them warm in December, according to the Sunday Mail, with a whistleblower telling the left-leaning newspaper that problems with the turbines are deep-seated.
“During December 60 turbines at Arecleoch and 11 at Glenn App were de-energised due to a cabling fault… In order to get these turbines re-energised diesel generators were running for upwards of six hours a day,” they revealed.
“Turbines are regularly offline due to faults where they are taking energy from the grid rather than producing it, and also left operating on half power for long periods due to parts which haven’t been replaced,” they continued.
… the Record went on to say that some 4,000 litres (over 1,000 U.S. gallons) of leaking hydraulic oil was “sprayed over the countryside” by the turbines
Maintenance is a nightmare according to a whistleblower from the wind industry who spoke to The Record:
He also claimed there had been other technical issues and environmental problems discovered. They include:
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- Turbines left operating on half power for long periods due to faulty convertor modules.
- Others in “test mode” where they take rather than contribute electricity to the grid.
- Over 4000 litres of oil leaked from hydraulic units on turbines and sprayed over the countryside.
- Concerns about safety standards and transparency.
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The whistleblower said: “Turbines are regularly offline due to faults where they are taking energy from the grid rather than producing it, and also left operating on half power for long periods due to parts which haven’t been replaced.
Scottish Power’s Spanish chairman was reported to earn £11 million in 2021.
Richard Tice, the leader of the Reform Party pointed out that some 83 per cent of Britain’s offshore wind turbines are foreign-owned. (The Reform Party was formerly the Brexit Party).
*It’s hard to even compare the maintenance costs of coal and wind. Engineers reading here may be able to help figure out the comparative weight and performance of wind turbines which are rapidly growing in size and made up of rotors, nacelles and blades. Their weights are often reported in ambiguous terms and as TonyfromOz points out, in toto only have a capacity factor of 30%. Obviously, the more wind there is in a system the more maintenance coal power requires as well. Just another burden from “renewables”.
h/t Krishna Gans, Saighdear, Richard K.