BigWallop wrote:
Capacity is just another way of saying "May Produce" when it comes to
renewable energy design. To work out exactly what the capacity of a wind
generator farm is, depends mostly on whatever you compare it with. The
whole plant may have the capacity to supply electrical power to a small
city, but it won't supply a whole region with many cities. So what capacity
does it really have? It has the capacity to generate electrical power, but
to what extent?

If you mean that the position of the site to capture the most prevalent wind
conditions to the fullest, then you may get a capacity of all the turbines
to capture around 50% of the wind from the site. It depends on the reaction
of the turbines to turn the wind they have captured into a potential energy
source.

So I'm confused on what is actually being meant by "Capacity" in this
context.

Most wind farm sites in the UK can give figures from 62 to 79% Capacity for
possible wind conversion into potential energy. Anything less than a
capacity to turn 62% of the potential wind source into a potentially usable
power supply is not going be anywhere near efficient enough to supply the
grid with anything usable.


Efficiency of conversion (and for that matter, average load factor)
really aren't the issue for large scale wind farms. Denmark's running
at about 20% wind, and that causes trouble - you have to be able to cope
with the odd windless day. If we had a wind-based system that was 99%
reliable in terms of supplying the base load (not the interruptible
stuff - the aluminium smelters and so on can just shut down when the
wind doesn't blow) would you be happy? Remember that this would mean 24
hour power cuts 3 times a year. *I'd* be getting a backup system if it
did that, and imagine what 20 million private backup systems in the UK
would cost. (more for the US. And all similar to Neon John's. But
without being able to use scrap parts, 'cos we're all fighting over
those. And the price of lead shoots up. And lead pollution rises...)

p.s. Coal lovers - REMEMBER ABERFAN!

Andy