THERE was warm welcome for the announcement by Energy Minister Eamon Ryan that householders and farmers will be paid by the Electricity Supply Board for any surplus electricity that they generate from wind turbines, photovoltaic panels or other alternative energy source.
One such householder is Quentin Gargan, founder of Turbotricity, a company that makes wind turbines for the home market.
He started developing a prototype because, as the owner of an electric Citroen Berlingo, he wanted to power it from a home source.
“Up to now, households with a wind turbine had to use a large bank of forklift batteries to store their power, involving additional costs and maintenance.
“It makes far more sense to sell surplus power to the grid and buy back extra energy when it is needed.”
Mr Ryan announced that a householder with their own renewable energy system will be paid 19 cents per kilowatt hour for any energy they produce but don’t need.
read the full article at Friends of the Irish Environment.
How an accident of geography could power wind project
In Ireland the wind blows stronger at night thanks to the weather systems blowing off the Atlantic ocean from the Gulf stream — just when demand for wind power is lowest. It means much of this potentially cheap and abundant power is wasted.
* What’s needed to make the most of this power is something like a gigantic battery that will store energy and release it when needed.
* Gaelectric wants to use water to carve out storage caverns in the salt deposits beneath the ground in the Larne area. There are two salt layers — the Triassic and the deeper Permian — which are what remains of two Mediterranean type seas from millions of years ago.
Read more on the Friends of the Irish Environment. site
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