The windy weather we normally get in October didn’t put in an appearance, but finally it is here, and today’s weather perfectly illustrates the need for a mixture of generation to keep the lights on all winter. At 10m on an overcast day the PV is producing next to nothing –
fortunately the turbine is making up for it…
which is producing enough power to bring the batteries back up, and feed surplus to the heating dumps and allow a couple of loads of washing to get done. Though the turbine is rated at 3000w, it is comfortably producing its peak of 3400w, and then furling to take it out of the wind.
Interesting going forward and something to keep in mind : multiple sources of power
Yep, even a little wind or water power from November – February is going to be pretty essential in our climate.
There is a team researching in the Western Isles at the UHI. They are looking at wave power to combine with wind – when the waves come in its often due to previous storms so the combination cover the days when there is little wind. The storm might have been far to the west off america and the wave rolls in days later! Not linked to the weather in Lewis at the time.