IT is interesting and informative to read both the Agenda article by
Roseanna Cunningham on the vision within the Scottish Government’s
forthcoming Climate Change Plan (“We must all be energised to build a
country that is fairer and greener”, The Herald, January 25) and an article
within your Scotland’s Ports supplement (“Offshore projects set to power
ahead in coming years”, The Herald, January 20) prepared, apparently, after
dialogue with Renewables UK. The former is a vision of where politicians
think we are going and the latter a declaration, in advance, of how the
renewables industry says we will achieve it. This implies the latter
confidently knows what the former is thinking. This is presumably because
the latter is leading the former.
What is lacking throughout is the application of (or requirement that)
analytical electrical engineering mathematical rigour be applied to the
vision in order to determine what is realistically achievable.
Professional engineering institutions throughout the UK have been shouting
from the rooftops for several years now for system engineering modelling to
be established to this end. It would have been reassuring had the Climate
Change Plan incorporated such a sensible course of action.
Instead we resort, apparently, to the hyperbole of the vested interest
renewables groups.
For example, whilst it is true from the Scotland’s Ports article that the
applicable Contract for Difference (CfD) strike price relating to the new
Hinckley nuclear power station, if ever built, will be £92.50 per megawatt
hour and that the present wholesale rate for electricity is £55.10, it
ignores the other half of the story, that the comparable strike prices
agreed in the February 2015 CfD bidding round for offshore wind generation
were £114.39 and £119.89.; some 20-30 per cent higher than that for nuclear.
I am unaware that these have since been reduced.
Some will question why the article overlooked this.
The article also states that on the planned SSE’s Beatrice Offshore
Windfarm Ltd project “each of the 84 turbines has the potential to generate
558MW”. This is nonsense.
Were the 558MW claimed true then each turbine would be outputting half the
capability of a Torness or Hunterston nuclear power station, which would
indeed represent energy salvation beyond the wildest dreams and energy
mathematics of James Clerk Maxwell, Michael Faraday and James Watt.
Our present reality is that at teatime on January 20 even “offshore” Orkney
with 57,000 kilowatts of installed wind capacity was generating only 42
kilowatts, enough electricity for 21 electric kettles. This for a
population in excess of 21,000.
At lunchtime on January 22 the UK power demand was 44,000MW with the entire
measured UK windfleet in collapse and only generating 390MW or 0.89 per
cent of our needs while Scotland was importing 1573MW (equivalent to 1.5
Hunterstons) to keep our cookers on.
No amount of additional offshore wind turbines would have provided
Scotland’s needs.
DB Watson,
Saviskaill, Langdales Avenue, Cumbernauld.
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