Welcome to European Tribune. It's gone a bit quiet around here these days, but it's still going.
Display:
the question is how you define "an entire field of wind turbines" - i.e. how big is the system that needs to be balanced, or what kind of connections do you have to other areas (with different wind patterns) that you can rely on?

The larger the system, the easier it is to deal with local events, and the larger "local" can be.

Wind power

by Jerome a Paris (etg@eurotrib.com) on Sat Apr 7th, 2012 at 10:52:43 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Also, the "outfall" of wind is predictable to a reasonably high degree over wide areas, even two days out, so there is little chance of an unplanned shock to the system.

Conversely, when grid planners know a strong wind is coming, the "balancing" plants can be more efficiently cycled.

"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin

by Crazy Horse on Sat Apr 7th, 2012 at 12:04:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I was referring to individual offshore installations, such as in the North Sea, the coasts of France and the Netherlands or to large onshore wind farms, the power from which is aggregated into a given tie point to the grid. It did happen recently that a large portion of the windmills in West Texas were substantially becalmed. I am sure that a forthcoming answer is possible.

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sat Apr 7th, 2012 at 01:06:10 PM EST
[ Parent ]
I often miss answers that are in the subject line. :-)

"It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Sat Apr 7th, 2012 at 01:31:28 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Display:

Occasional Series