Energy efficiency of wind and solar power

to The Editor The Advertiser. 21 Feb 14, by Dennis Matthews Once again we have extravagant claims that detract from any valid arguments people may have against wind farms (The Advertiser, 21/2/14).

Every piece of equipment that is used to generate electricity consumes energy in its manufacture. The time needed to generate electricity to replace the energy used during manufacture varies from one technology to another but is particularly short when that technology uses no fuel that has to be mined, processed and transported. Wind and solar are prime examples.

For every unit of electricity generated by these technologies there is one less unit generated by more energy consuming and polluting technologies. Rather than having to build additional polluting generators their construction is either avoided or in some cases they are taken out of service.

Standby power in the form of fast start up power stations already exist, they are grossly underutilized and therefore economically inefficient. By using them to supplement wind farms they are used more efficiently.