Modernization of obsolete UK wind farms will increase energy generation by 171%
Wind energy now plays a crucial role in the life of many countries. The "wind power" has several positive points - the wind is almost inexhaustible resource, in addition, wind power plants do not cause the environment the same damage as thermal power plants.
The disadvantages of this kind of power stations also exist. The main thing is for the station to be commercially profitable, it should be located in a place where the winds of a certain force constantly blow. In some countries of the regions where it is windy more than in others. One of these countries is the United Kingdom.
The problem is that the construction of wind power plants in the country began about a quarter of a century ago, which means that the “shelf life” of some facilities is coming to an end. The blades of wind turbines and turbines will have to be removed and disposed of sooner or later. Accordingly, energy production will fall for this period.
There are a lot of obsolete facilities of this kind in the UK - there are 62 of them. It is also a bad thing that some wind farms were installed without being dismantled. Thus, after the end of the service life, the equipment will slowly deteriorate under the influence of the environment.
An object of this kind, the exploitation of which has come to an end, has three scenarios. The first is the dismantling of the entire infrastructure with further land reclamation. The second option is the extension of the life of operating power plants. To do this, you need a special resolution regulator. Extend the life of a windmill can be for a period of 5 to 10 years. The third option is the modernization of wind farms, with the replacement of old systems with new ones.
Since there are a lot of old facilities with windmills in the UK, they can be modernized, which will extend the life of the infrastructure by 25 years. This is not the first experience of this kind. Over the past few in the UK, 23 wind farms have been modernized. Their modification and modernization allowed us to talk about an increase in the volume of generated energy by 171%.
Outdated stations gradually become more and more - by the end of the year 54 stations will become unnecessary. Within 10 years, 161 stations will become obsolete and will be decommissioned. Of course, there may be changes, but they are unlikely to be too significant.
Modernization of wind farms is a rather complicated task. For example, in some regions, the population opposes the placement of "wind turbines". Just because the stations do not fit into the landscape. Nevertheless, replacing old turbines with new ones will help reduce their number by 24% - simply because the new turbines are 89.5% higher and produce more energy.
In the UK, many households receive energy from wind farms, so the residents of such regions do not have to complain. It is now up to us to decide where to modernize the stations, and where to remove the outdated infrastructure, there will be the government of the country.
Be that as it may, the experts recommend to upgrade the infrastructure, rather than destroy it. Probably, similar steps should be taken not only to the British government, but also to the leadership of other countries where there are wind power stations.
