jawagord wrote:Antarctic research station lost one of its wind turbines when the nacelle and rotor fell off, 14 years in use almost made the average lifespan.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-08/m ... ed/9130554
The winds at Mawson are always quite strong at night, so they were up to about 40 knots, but that's not, by Mawson standards, especially strong."
Dr Wooding said the turbine was one of two on the station, but both had been deactivated as a precaution while investigations continued.
"We use turbines at Mawson to supplement our diesel-powered power station, and they can provide up to 95 per cent of the station's power on any given day," he said.
The pair of turbines had been in operation since 2003 and usually provided about half of the station's power each year.
"That's a good energy efficiency ... and cost-saving measure for us, but we do have enough diesel power available at the station to meet all our electricity needs," Dr Wooding said.
ROCKMAN wrote:coffee - "Time's getting pretty short, though, in both Australia and New England." Yep. And relatively low energy cost today hurt alt expansion. Which is why any economic leverage given to alt build out is critical. When the day comes when electricity becomes so expensive that the alts can stand alone economically it will take so long for them to expand there will be an extended period of suffering by consumers. As you say the long game plan is what is needed to avoid that situation.
Maybe in an odd way Texas politicians see that better then most. To some degree they see the future more clearly given their better appreciation of the future of petroleum. For instance a fair number of the Georgetown residents are oil patch retirees. Including the former Halliburton hand I bought my current home from. They see the future petroleum supply problems and are willing to pay a premium today to avoid such crippling future pain.
ROCKMAN wrote:Ghung - Given the cost of shipping diesel to the station I suspect their wind project was the most profitable alt effort on the planet.
Newfie wrote:Got to the boat today. Irene ate my wind gen blades. I had them tied off but I guess it was too much.
Anyway, need new blades. BUT Aerogen/LVM was bought by Jabso (pump people) who discontinued this fine product line. Obsolete. No spares support.
Thrashing about online trying to find someone with blades. I had a couple of spares l, but I need a full new set. DAMN!
Newfie wrote:Got to the boat today. Irene ate my wind gen blades. I had them tied off but I guess it was too much.
Anyway, need new blades. BUT Aerogen/LVM was bought by Jabso (pump people) who discontinued this fine product line. Obsolete. No spares support.
Thrashing about online trying to find someone with blades. I had a couple of spares l, but I need a full new set. DAMN!
ROCKMAN wrote:Ghung - No application in warm Texas but have long thought a cheap alternative to battery storage was super insulated oil tanks to dump exceeds electricity and the use for space heating as needed. And essentially an unlimited lifetime compared to batteries.
But now we have electric plans in Texas offering free late night and weekend electricity. Maybe enough cold up north in Texas to justify such energy storage: run the oil heaters full blast when power is free.
vtsnowedin wrote:ROCKMAN wrote:Ghung - No application in warm Texas but have long thought a cheap alternative to battery storage was super insulated oil tanks to dump exceeds electricity and the use for space heating as needed. And essentially an unlimited lifetime compared to batteries.
But now we have electric plans in Texas offering free late night and weekend electricity. Maybe enough cold up north in Texas to justify such energy storage: run the oil heaters full blast when power is free.
Why oil in the tanks?. Water works as well and cost less. Some wood fired boilers around here have 1000 gallon water tanks sitting beside them to buffer the ups and downs of wood heat.
vtsnowedin wrote:ROCKMAN wrote:Ghung - No application in warm Texas but have long thought a cheap alternative to battery storage was super insulated oil tanks to dump exceeds electricity and the use for space heating as needed. And essentially an unlimited lifetime compared to batteries.
But now we have electric plans in Texas offering free late night and weekend electricity. Maybe enough cold up north in Texas to justify such energy storage: run the oil heaters full blast when power is free.
Why oil in the tanks?. Water works as well and cost less. Some wood fired boilers around here have 1000 gallon water tanks sitting beside them to buffer the ups and downs of wood heat.
Subjectivist wrote:vtsnowedin wrote:ROCKMAN wrote:Ghung - No application in warm Texas but have long thought a cheap alternative to battery storage was super insulated oil tanks to dump exceeds electricity and the use for space heating as needed. And essentially an unlimited lifetime compared to batteries.
But now we have electric plans in Texas offering free late night and weekend electricity. Maybe enough cold up north in Texas to justify such energy storage: run the oil heaters full blast when power is free.
Why oil in the tanks?. Water works as well and cost less. Some wood fired boilers around here have 1000 gallon water tanks sitting beside them to buffer the ups and downs of wood heat.
Oil has some advantages and disadvantages. For one you can heat it to a much higher temperature without needing to pressurize the tank to prevent boiling. For another thing it is naturally anti-corrosive for the vast majority of materials. For a third if you choose a biodegradable oil form then waste treatment is easy peasy.
vtsnowedin wrote:Being able to heat water from 70 degrees to 205F is enough for me. I don't want boiling oil or anything close to it in my basement in case of a house fire. If needed I'd use a bigger tank or multiple tanks. With water if you get a leak it just goes down the floor drain no problem. An oil leak not so much. And water doesn't cost $2.50 a gallon which is a lot of money to tie up in a way you can't use without going out of business on that system. A house in my town has a tank in the basement that is ten feet in diameter and five feet high. That is 3.3 million BTUs of of heat storage with an additional 750,000 before the house would drop below 40 degrees F. That is enough to last a week in mid winter in VT if the house is well built.
Alfred Tennyson wrote:We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
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