Physics problem help, please?

advantages and disadvantages of wind energy

A nuclear power station has an output power of 200 MW. It is proposed to replace the power station with a series of wind turbines each with an energy output of 750kW. Sate and discuss one advantage and one disadvantage such a change might bring if this proposal was to take place

Thank you!

you will need 200/.75 = 267 wind turbines.

And that is if they run all the time, which they won’t. Typical usage factor is 20%, so you need 5*267 = 1300 wind turbines.

These will cover a lot of land, much more than the power plant does.

The major other problem is that you would need a way to store the power for when the wind is not blowing, and that is not possible without another major expense, like a pumped water facility. This could cost more than the wind turbines themselves.

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One Response to “Physics problem help, please?”

  1. billrussell42 — September 17, 2009 @ 7:54 pm

    you will need 200/.75 = 267 wind turbines.

    And that is if they run all the time, which they won’t. Typical usage factor is 20%, so you need 5*267 = 1300 wind turbines.

    These will cover a lot of land, much more than the power plant does.

    The major other problem is that you would need a way to store the power for when the wind is not blowing, and that is not possible without another major expense, like a pumped water facility. This could cost more than the wind turbines themselves.

    .
    References :

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