Monday 11 April 2016

Wind Energy will provide just 3% of Peak Demand

Eirgrid expect that somewhere between 4,000MW and 5,000MW of wind will be built by 2025 :



That's enough generation capacity to almost meet projected peak demand :



However, wind energy is not normal generating capacity. A duplicate generation system will have to be maintained alongside all this subsidized wind. How much will all these new wind farms contribute to peak demand - the answer is between 3 and 4%.

That's right, Eirgrid estimate that at least 96% of peak demand will have to be met by conventional, mostly fossil fuel (presumably), sources :

All this generating capacity will require capacity payments to remain viable skyrocketing energy bills. While Eirgrid maintain that wind has some capacity credit, this ultimately proves that it has zero, which is what the Danish consider it to be (and quite rightly). You need to back up wind with 100% dispatchable generation. Which right now means either fossil fuel, nuclear or biomass. Since the Irish government are currently not in favor of the last two, that means 100% fossil fuel back up.

Source : Eirgrid, Generation Capacity Statement 2016-2025


4 comments:

  1. Would you please specify the Eirgrid source for this article? I don't see any. Need it to summarize the article for a Polish website. Thank you for great work, Pawel

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  2. Good to see the Irish reaching almost the right conclusion on the capacity factor of wind, unlike the Brits and the South Australians.

    If you rely on some wind MW to meet peak demand then you have not solved your peak demand problem, you have merely delayed the day of reckoning until the same time the following day, or the day after, or during the next cold spell, when those wind MW are not available.

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  3. Google "Mitsubishi falsify fuel economy tests" The car makers is cheating like VW. They are all at it. Time governments saw through this green baloney. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-36089558

    ReplyDelete