David Dempsey: NZ’s plan to drill for ‘supercritical’ geothermal energy holds promise and risk....

Hotter and deeper: how NZ’s plan to drill for ‘supercritical’ geothermal energy holds promise and risk

New Zealand’s North Island features a number of geothermal systems, several of which are used to generate some 1,000 MegaWatts of electricity. But deeper down there may be even more potential.

The government is now investing NZ$60 million to explore what is known as “supercritical” geothermal energy, following five years of feasibility research led by GNS Science.

Ian Bradford: Wake up NZ

We need to start building nuclear power stations if we are to avoid blackouts. 

Two articles ago, I wrote about the fact that there was nothing good about wind turbines, and the same could be applied to large solar farms. The inevitable backlash against wind power started in Germany, and it is spreading fast. The fact that chaotically intermittent wind power can’t be delivered as and when power consumers need it, means the wanton destruction of pristine wilderness, bucolic landscapes, rural communities, and millions of birds and bats (including many species on the brink of extinction), is very hard to justify.

Derek Mackie: My Generation's Wind Moment

I trust The Who would approve of this renewables-inspired version of their classic song, My Generation, critiquing the why, where, when and how of wind power. 

People try to put us …. down 

     Talkin’ ‘bout wind generation 

‘Cause we don’t always spin around 

    Un-pre-dict-able rotation 

Don’t work at all when it’s calm and c-c-cold 

    Useless in tough situations 

Know I’ll die before I get old 

    Low life expectancy duration 

That’s wind generation 

That’s wind generation, baby 

Ian Bradford: Is there anything good about wind farms?

Recently, there was a headline in a newspaper. It said:  Wind Farm to be Built.  The farm was to have 22 turbines and stretched an unbelievable 7.5 km along a ridge.   The paper went on to say that the farm would generate 93 Megawatts when at full capacity. That would be enough to power 40,000 homes.  The truth is it will hardly ever be at full capacity. In fact, most of the time it will be well below that. If the wind is too strong they will be disabled. If the wind doesn’t blow, then there will be no power. The supply will be very unreliable. Worldwide, the average output of a wind farm is just 25% of its theoretical capacity.  So this particular wind farm will power 10,000 homes NOT 40,000 as stated. 

Viv Forbes: Not Green at All

“Green” policies are destroying the natural environment and changing local weather. This is part of a futile UN scheme claiming to improve the climate of the world.

All green energy degrades its environment.

Take wind power.

Wind turbines steal energy from the atmosphere and must affect local weather. Turbines are always placed on the highest ground and along ridges to catch more wind. Natural hills already affect local weather by causing more rain along the ridge, and a rain shadow further downwind. Wind turbines enhance this rain shadow effect by robbing the wind of its ability to take moisture and rain into the drier interior. Promoting more inland desertification is not green.

Matt Ridley: The Madness Of Our Worship Of Wind

They despoil our glorious countryside, add £6 billion a year to our household bills and are arguably the most inefficient solution to our energy crisis. So why is the Government planning to make it even easier to build them?

Take a wild guess at how much of the UK’s total primary demand for energy was supplied by wind power in 2020.

Half? 30 per cent? No, in fact, it was less than 4 per cent.

That’s right, all those vast wind farms in the North Sea, or disfiguring the hills of Wales and Scotland, give us little more than one-thirtieth of the energy we need to light and heat our homes, power our businesses or move our cars and trains. Just think what this country and its seas would look like if we relied on wind for one-third or half of our energy needs.

Viv Forbes from Australia: Blowing Our Dollars in the Wind.

Wind energy produces costly, intermittent, unpredictable electricity. But Government subsidies and mandates have encouraged a massive gamble on wind investments in Australia - over $7 billion has already been spent and another $30 billion is proposed. This expenditure is justified by the claim that by using wind energy there will be less carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere which will help to prevent dangerous global warming.

Incredibly, this claim is not supported by any credible cost-benefit analysis - a searching enquiry is well overdue. Here is a summary of things that should be included in the enquiry.