Scale

 At present there is broad consensus in the industry that the only practical way to harness wind power is in large scale installations. Therefore, unlike in the case of solar energy where most houses can deal with a solar panel or two on the roof, private individuals who are property owners will normally not be able to get involved directly in wind power.

 Another reason why scale is important is that the economics of the situation require that electricity generated by wind power be fed into the national grid. Small, private installations, otherwise known as micro wind power plants, are simply not suitable for this. Even for the big players, integration with the national grid involves serious challenges, not least the widely held view among some in traditional, fossil fuel burning, electricity generation that wind energy is, to a large extent, unreliable because of the fact that the wind is constantly changing speed. The established industry also complains that, as wind farms are most often located in remote regions, the cost of transmitting the power to major centres of population and industry is prohibitive.

 Of course, every day now brings with it a rise in the price of fossil fuels, so that may change attitudes in time, and the development of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) technology, along with the realisation that remote regions, and the regions in between, require electricity as well (they’re not deserts, after all), has done much to eliminate the transmission cost objection.

 When complete the wind farm described here will generate power of between 250 and 330 mW (megawatts) or enough to cater for the electricity requirements of approximately 250,000 average Irish households. It will cost around €500 million.

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