Let's do wind | 37 comments (37 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Two minor niggles:

Is the comparison with installed capacity completely fair? Each MW of nuclear power will produce more energy than a MW of wind. I don't have the numbers here but I wouldn't expect that you would not get more than 2.5TWh out of 1GW of wind power, but it should be possible to get more than 5TWh out of the same installed capacity of nuclear. Of course, given the growth rate of wind power that would only mean that you would have to wait another 3-4 years and then make the comparison again.

They somehow forgot solar energy (in practice PV). According to EPIA
the installed PV capacity in Europe at the end of 2007 was 4500MW, with 1500MW installed in 2007, which is more than the "other" category in the graphs. It's not nearly as much as wind (yet), but it should at least be visible on the graphs. Admittedly, PV gives an even lower output per installed GW, at 1-2TWh/year depending on location.

Real capricorns don't believe in astrology.

by tomhuld (thomas punkt huld at jrc punkt it) on Tue Oct 7th, 2008 at 03:33:40 AM EST
[ Parent ]

1 - you are absolutely correct. A wind MW does not generate as many MWh as a nuclear MW. Still, in terms of showing that the scale of development of wind matches that of nuclear, the graph is relevant.

2 - the study I quote only uses data up to 2006, so the boom in solar over the past 2 years is probably not visible in these graphs.

In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Tue Oct 7th, 2008 at 03:56:50 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Niggling back (none / 0)

The comparison is between the exponentiality of the curves, using ad-hoc starting dates. The same could be done for generation, using different starting dates.

I note that given the longer construction time for nuclear, an interesting comparison would be using the start of the construction of the first commercial plants as the respective starting date.
No, it's until 2007, and PV installations were in the same ballpark in 2006. In fact, I suspect they committed another error: it seems they inserted the PV data backwards, given that the green column decreases from 2000 to 2007.

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Tue Oct 7th, 2008 at 08:33:27 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Let's do wind | 37 comments (37 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)