I don't know. You'd have to google. The power they produce was subsidised though, going off memory.
lakeview3,
May 5, 4:42am
That one that caught fire the other day was a worry 😳
bill-robinson,
May 5, 4:44am
they are impressive when the overspeed as the blades could not be featered as well. googe it and watch. i read somewhere a while ago there are a lot of unused wind turbines in hawaii, i wonder why.
tygertung,
May 5, 5:47am
It seems that Germany has about 27% of total electricity generated by wind turbines. Germany is a lot bigger than NZ and has much more industry, so that is a significant amount of electricity.
Wind: 131.69 TWh (27.2%)
Wind turbines are obviously not a waste of time if they are used to such effect over there. They wouldn't be generating 27.2% of their electricity with it if it didn't work.
Well, if they can do it over there, should be pretty easy in NZ, seeing as we already have majority hydro, and have much lower energy consumption.
Just need to build up a few more wind turbines.
Here in Christchurch, it is windy a lot of the time, especially during warmer months, (less windy in the winter) and I would imagine that it is similar in other parts of NZ.
apollo11,
May 5, 6:29pm
A mate worked for DSIR, researching tidal turbines. There is more tidal energy flowing through Cook straight than NZ can use, if only we could tap into it. Results from their prototype were very promising, but it's a challenging environment for any equipment.
tygertung,
May 5, 7:51pm
Yes, the sea is the most corrosive environment on earth.
Pretty harsh environment to work in. I guess the turbines would need to be large as there might not be a very big current flow.
philltauranga,
May 5, 8:49pm
I wonder if the underwater turbines or above water installation of waterwheels could be cost effectively used to scavenge the flow of water from the base of the dams, down stream from the powerhouse. A grid of them could be installed in the tail race with the axles supported by piles, taking advantage of the high flow rate in a controlled environment. I assume there would be a good amount of torque on the shaft, if a grid of them was connected via drive shafts it could mean there is one more generator at the dam. Youtube: Demonstration of Waterwheel Maintenance
tony9,
May 5, 9:16pm
That would put back pressure against the tail race and lower turbine efficiency.
The Upper-Mid Waitaki chain of stations pretty much does this. From Ohau A through to Waitaki power station the lakes effectively run from Head Water to Tail Water level at each level. And there is no rush of water in the tail race (where present), it just burbles up to the surface. However at full load the intermediate lakes do take on a perceptible slant due to the water flowing down the lake.
Waikato hydro stations and lakes are pretty much the same.
philltauranga,
May 5, 9:32pm
I was thinking about the ones on the Waikato river which I have visited and made delivery's to for work. They seem to have a huge volume of water surging down the tailrace away from the powerhouse, seems a shame to waste the energy. I wonder if they could calculate a suitable distance from the dam turbines to eliminate back pressure, which I think would be minimal particularly with the waterwheel as opposed to the underwater turbine.
I see you edited to add Waikato, have you been to them? I noticed the tail races have a huge volume of fast flowing water, certainly not what I would call: "And there is no rush of water in the tail race"
tygertung,
May 6, 12:35am
I wonder if the turbines would be a hazard to navigation?
apollo11,
May 6, 12:42am
Wouldn't think so, they wouldn't be placed near a shipping lane I guess.
tony9,
May 6, 2:12am
I have visited every hydro station in NZ and worked at the major ones, including all on the Waikato except for the submerged one.
Yes, there is a volume of fast flowing water, but to put a weir or paddle wheel into the flow to try to extract energy would cause increased backflow resistance.
philltauranga,
May 6, 2:58am
I didn't envisage any type of weir blocking the tailrace in the suggestion, I'm not talking about the gravity drop type waterwheel, I'm referring to the above water type. The only resistance would be the piles supporting the axles and the waterwheel itself in the top 20percent of the flow, seems like the ideal place to have a grid of them, no public or boat access, no big fluctuations in water level or flow. With that in mind, look at the youtube link below, up scale that to stretch across the tailrace supported on piles and have several rows of them, the bulk 80percent of the flow going underneath the waterwheel, effectively scavenging some of the flow. Would that cause enough backpressure in the tailrace to be a problem? Would it even be worth the cost vs return I wonder?
The Bradford "reforms" and the multitude of power suppliers and lines companies all sucking the market was not conducive to building more generating stations.
bill1451,
Aug 12, 1:54pm
In the words of John Cleese "are you insinuating something" who me nah.
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