Windfarms break energy record in Spain

Windfarms break energy record in Spain
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/04/windfarms-break-energy-record-spain Past three months saw windfarms produce more electricity than any other source for first time, trade body says
Over the last three months wind farms produced more electricity than any other power source in Spain for the first time ever, an industry group has said.
The country delivered over six terawatt hours of electricity from wind farms during January, according to data from grid operator Red Electrica de Espana, the Spanish Wind Energy Association said in a statement.
"Since November 1, wind has been the top technology in the electrical system," the group said in a blog posting. "The last time any technology exceeded six terawatt-hours of monthly generation was in 2010, when it was combined-cycle gas turbines."
The performance means wind energy exceeded output from both nuclear and coal-fired power stations and represents more than a quarter of Spain's total power generation.
Spain has been looking to boost its wind power capacity as part of the government's efforts to cut carbon emissions.
The news came in the same week as German wind energy industry association BWE said it expects developers to add between 3GW and 3.5GW of capacity this year, far outstripping the 2.4GW installed in 2012.
The surge in new capacity will be largely driven by new offshore wind farms coming online and will mean the country remains on track to meet its goal of generating around 40 per cent of its electricity form renewables by 2020, up from about 25 per cent currently.

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Far right crackpot groups won't like this news !!!

On Wed, 06 Feb 2013 13:51:14 -0800, Transition Zone wrote:
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ene...
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ANY group will take note that this is NOT saving Spain from its economic implosion.
I wonder how long those things have to run before they pay for themselves ?

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One thing is for sure. It gives them a lot less coal ash to inhale.

On Wed, 06 Feb 2013 14:04:01 -0800, Transition Zone wrote:
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At least coal - bulky stuff that it is - generated more jobs for the average Jose'.
And besides, if collected, fly-ash makes a good ingredient for certain kinds of concrete. Roman concrete - that has held up for millenia - allegedly uses a lot of fly-ash, wood ash and volcanic ash in the mix. Modern cements start to go soft in a century ... some mixes even sooner.

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There are mountains of fly ash and they are getting bigger, and are being used more and more in concrete and for other uses.

On Thu, 07 Feb 2013 00:47:39 -0500, emoneyjoe wrote:
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Very wise. One mans 'waste' is anothers valuable raw material.
Fly-ash concrete hardens using a different chemistry than common Portland cement. The result is allegedly MUCH more durable.
FYI, the Egyptians also invented a kind of concrete, but it was based on yet another kind of chemistry, related to the high zeolite content of the mix. It also lasts - was said to have been used to smooth and patch-up the Sphinx in antiquity and is still there doing its thing. Maybe it's the ultra-dry climate ... or maybe the stuff really IS good enough to last 4000 years.
Maybe we're getting ripped off by the Portland cement-makers ...

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No, it takes time to develop the formulas for using the fly ash, which was not available in quantity until scrubbers were added in the last 15 or 20 years.
Some power plants now have pyramids of fly ash covered with soil sides, bigger than the great pyramid on the base size. They are selling it, but so far sales have not kept up with production.
I think some contractors are using it for other things too, maybe fill under slabs or asphalt. I don't know if the price competes with sand or dirt, some fly ash is high in aluminum, calcium or glass.

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~50 years ago I worked on supervision of construction of an earth dam over limestone bedrock. the underlying bedrock waqs pressure groutedwith a mixture of portlnd cement, fly ash and water to provide a seal against leakage under the dam. I had holes drilled som 100 feet deep then installed re-bar to hold dial gages to chek for any uplift due to grout being injected under quite high pressure. It was very interesting to see how the grouting was carried out.