Monday
Feb032014
by 
Bishop Hill
Bishop Hill First power cuts caused by renewables
Feb 3, 2014 Energy: grid Charlie Flindt sends this snippet from the Hampshire Chronicle:
More than a thousand homes across the Alresford area were left without power on Monday. Reports of power outages across Beauworth, Bramdean, Brockwood, Cheriton and West Meon, came in at approximately 10.30am, after a cable was struck by workmen near Alresford. Duncan MacDonald, a spokesman for Southern Electric, said the problems began at ariound 9.30am, when road workers hit a cable on Appledown Lane. They were working on laying cables for the solar farm at Western Court Farm.
Reader Comments (21)
No, it's not a farm, it's a solar industrial complex.
How much money has been expended on this rubbish already? Now we has some more expence, and threats to peoples livelihood and life.
Well I'm no fan of renewables but it sounds to me that the power cut was caused by bad organisation/training or whatever of the workmen who cut the cable.
Breaking news! Workman break an existing cable resulting in power cuts!
Seriously?
This is not the first occasion, there have been many examples of operation of solar farms causing local power cuts - people will have to get used to power interrupts the more intermittent and uncontrollable renewable energy schemes are connected to the system. It is called going back to being a third world country.
I have had my power cut off due to local network upgrades to accommodate a wind turbine.
It has to be said that incident could have happened anywhere and to any power source. Read this today and it makes interesting reading:
http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2014/02/03/wind-power-german-data-shows-what-the-dutch-found-out-years-ago/
Eh?
First power cuts caused by renewables?
Road workers hit a cable on Appledown Lane.
Get a grip...
My tongue is in my cheek HG54 et al!
It's funny cause he thought you was being serious Bish! :)
Regards
Mailman
@HG54
...First power cuts caused by renewables?
Road workers hit a cable on Appledown Lane.
Get a grip...
Indeed. It gives a lot of ammunition to the green maniacs if you run this sort of story, even tongue in cheek. Expect the Guardian to reply by finding an instance where workers on a new hospital cut through a cable accidentally, and claiming that this means that "Climate Deniers want to stop all hospital building"...
Re: Feb 3, 2014 at 11:02 AM | Paul
This is a welcome criticism by John Ward. Although very much a whistleblower in other areas he has in the past stuck steadfastly to the CAGW meme despite the concerns of much of his well-informed readership!!
Concerns have been raised about such installations - and small "embedded" turbines - having inadequate frequency control. Apparently that can cause blackouts by tripping the local grid, as has happened in Germany. I imagine it could also damage/disrupt electronic kit like computers, routers, etc.. However I am no sparkie so this could be a false concern.
Perhaps someone with expert knowledge could comment?
Tongue in cheek of course - but not completely unrealistic. Imagine if it could have been linked to "fracking" in any way ...
Have just emailed this to the mighty Hampshire Chronicle:
Sir,
The workmen laying cables to Western Court solar farm who blacked out huge areas of mid-Hampshire on Monday have inadvertently done us a huge favour. They have given us the perfect preview of how much electricity will be provided by solar and wind generators on a cold calm night.`
Yours faithfully,
Charlie Flindt
It's probably as well to make it clear that the headline is tongue-in-cheek considering that (a) we argue pretty strongly that what evidence there is of aquifer contamination is bad practice (as Martin A points out) and not fracking per se and (b) eco-nuts have neither a sense of humour nor understanding of irony!
Dealing with trolls is hard enough without giving them more (blank) ammunition to make meaningless noises with!
And a bit of help for those who don't get irony:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT1TVSTkAXg
"... eco-nuts have neither a sense of humour nor understanding of irony!"
Nor, it would appear, do some sceptics
Well said Charlie.
Why lay cables to it anyway..?
I thought the object was just to get the subsidies for installing the solar panels...
Charlie Flindt
Love the Ed Byrne video thank you. Made my day.
Good letter to our friends in media as well.
But I keep telling you that you don't have time to be on here, you are still supposed to be digging those reservoirs on the farm or you will be short of water come the Summer. Now that would be ironic.
If memory serves correctly, a major blackout occurred in Europe on 4th November 2006, the worst ever in the UCTE area. The UCTE investigation into the blackout noted that the uncontrolled output of wind-parks both exacerbated the blackout, and compromised attempts to restore supply. Curiously, I am unable to locate the UCTE report on the internet, and mention of wind power appears to be airbrushed out of recent publication on this issue.