On 2006-11-18 12:52:22 +0000, David Hansen
said:
On Sat, 18 Nov 2006 12:15:45 +0000 someone who may be Andy Hall
wrote this:-
However, when taken to the realities of
- Does it save money with all factors taken into account?
Part of the answer is that it depends on the wind resources
available at the particular site. Another part of the answer is that
it is usually better (in financial as well as environmental terms)
to save energy than generate it. Both these are things groups like
Friends of the Earth have said for a long time.
A bit woolly....
- Does it save the planet with all factors taken into account?
The question is does it reduce greenhouse gas emissions? The answer
to this question is yes, in nearly all cases. However, there may
well be other ways to reduce carbon dioxide emissions more, which is
why Friends of the Earth Scotland say, "Done what you can to make
your home more energy efficient? Made the switch to a green energy
supplier? Want to do more to support green energy? If you own your
own home then you may be in a position to generate your own energy.
In some cases you could even get paid for the energy you produce."
http://www.foe-scotland.org.uk/natio...enewables.html
Will one wind turbine "save the planet" is a question the antis like
to ask, presumably because they think it is a killer question.
However, the answer to this question is the same as it is on many
other things, a lot of little things add up to a lot.
OK. Let's say (to pick a number) that 20% of UK households installed
solar panels and or personal windmills.
What would be the estimates for energy saved and reduction in CO2
emission, assuming
that the energy replacement was of the highest CO2 emitting means of
power generation?
I am thinking of these as a realistic maximum of households (make it
some other percentage if you like) and that it would be addressing the
most affecting energy sources. In reality, the existing power
generators would take the most expensive production out of service
first rather than the dirtiest, but let's be generous and leave that
aside as well.
Then extrapolate the figures for a) Western Europe and b) Kyoto participants.