The council estate building England’s largest wind turbine

[Mark]

The Bristol council estate building England’s largest wind turbine:
https://www.positive.news/environment/e ... d-turbine/

[kenneal - lagger]

Good luck to them. That large excess in money could and should be used to insulate the homes well and then install heat pumps to really get them independent. Insulating on the outside, installing a ventilation system and upgrading the windows would also probably tackle many of the damp problems that houses of that type often suffer from such as damp and mould caused by cold and lack of ventilation in trying to keep the houses warm.

[adam2]

Oh dear.
I am in favour of wind power, and it is indeed competitive on cost grounds. What worries me is "England’s largest wind turbine" Which combined with anything publicly funded sounds like a recipe for vast cost overruns and delays, followed by long term unreliability.

Far better IMHO would be a standard existing design of wind turbine, that is already giving good service at existing wind farms. If the output of a single machine is insufficient, then install several.

New and larger wind turbines might well be the future, but trials are better done firstly by the private sector, and secondly in a remote place just in case of accidents. Once the design is proved, then use it more generally.

[kenneal - lagger]

It did say, "England's" so they may well be in use in Scotland or Wales or off shore somewhere. We haven't built any onshore for quite a few years so what we have built are probably on the small side by now.

They may well be constrained for space if it's being built in a housing estate so one only might be what is possible.

[clv101]

It's 4.2 MW, big for on-shore but much larger turbines are routinely installed. 12 MW units in a wind farm off the Yorkshire coast for example.

This is a really impressive project, I used to work with Andrew Garrad, he's a great guy, gets things done. More impressive than the numbers, it is only one turbine after all, is the spectacle of such a machine in an urban environment. It's going to look incredible.

[BritDownUnder]

Hats off to them for wanting to put a turbine actually in their own community.

I have to wonder whether the average wind speeds are higher in urban Bristol than somewhere on the coast or out in the Bristol Channel where the capacity factor may be greater. Also as the article suggests whether the connection capacity to the grid or local network is available.

Being a council estate with all the baggage that goes with it, the local drug dealers may like it as the Old Bill's helicopters will have to give it a wide berth.

[PS_RalphW]

Bristol is on a high ridge above the Avon gorge which will magnify the dominant south westerliesblowing up the gorge. I suspect it will be an excellent place for a turbine

[adam2]

4.2 MW is indeed not that large by offshore standards, so hopefully it will work fine.