Slashdot Mirror
It's Been So Windy in Europe That Electricity Prices Have Turned Negative (vice.com)
An anonymous reader writes: It's been very windy across Europe this week. So much so, in fact, that the high wind load on onshore and offshore wind turbines across much of the continent has helped set new wind power records. For starters, renewables generated more than half of Britain's energy demand on Wednesday -- for the first time ever. In fact, with offshore wind supplying 10 percent of the total demand, energy prices were knocked into the negative for the longest period on record. The UK is home to the world's biggest wind farm, and the largest wind turbines, so it's no surprise that this was an important factor in the country's energy mix. "Negative prices aren't frequently observed," Joel Meggelaars, who works at renewable energy trade body WindEurope, told Motherboard over the phone. "It means a high supply and low demand."
...electricity pays you!
Am I doing this right?
This reminds me of the time I went to buy cinder blocks at Home Depot. The guy told me the more I bought, the cheaper they are. So I told him to load them up on my trailer until they're free.
#DeleteFacebook
And just how much time does it take to feather a wind mill? Surely that should be nearly instantaneous, like an airplane propeller? Or do they have to send out a technician to climb up and turn a big wheel to feather the vanes?
They have to send a guy in a red shirt up an access tube so that he can reverse the polarity. There are usually plenty of sparks involved.
Either direction is fine.
Those big windmills are there to combat global warming.
They are cooling fans.
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.