Mission Statement: to assist the integration of foreign residents living in Spain
By John Smith •
Updated: 08 Nov 2024 • 12:02 • 1 minute read
As we continue to move into an era of self-generating energy, a problem has arisen with wind power and it is so regular that the Germans even have a word for it.
Low winds in Europe means wind turbines don t generate electricity
A ‘Dunkelflaute’ is a period of weather which recently brought wind power generation to zero in the UK, Germany and other parts of northern Europe.
This translates as a ‘dark lull’ and occurs when due to high pressure and cloudy weather, wind speeds drop dramatically resulting in little or no generation of electricity from the turbines.
Germany had several days of this phenomenon with just 7 per cent of the countries electricity needs being created by wind power so this meant that they had to ‘top up’ with more expensive coal fired and gas plants with the addition of some solar power in order to meet requirements.
In the UK the results were even more dramatic with a maximum of 4 per cent of required electricity coming from wind power and the balance was made up from gas fired plants, nuclear and biomass plants, solar energy and even some electricity having to be imported from abroad.
Complete drops in wind are rare but lulls are regularly recorded
According to experts, complete drops in wind generation are rare, but significant declines in generation due to a lull in the wind are regular occurrences and are one of the potential ongoing problems as Europe tries to switch to environmentally friendly generation of energy needs by 2030.
Some old methods of energy generation may need to be retained
Long-term storage is the answer but that brings its own problems with the need for huge amounts of battery storage, new ways of transferring power across each country, with ongoing support from traditional generation.
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Married to Ophelia in Gibraltar in 1978, John has spent much of his life travelling on security print and minting business and visited every continent except Antarctica.
Having retired several years ago, the couple moved to their house in Estepona and John became a regular news writer for the EWN Media Group taking particular interest in Finance, Gibraltar and Costa del Sol Social Scene.
Currently he is acting as Editorial Consultant for the paper helping to shape its future development.
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