With solar activity currently in the grey zone near the end of cycle 23 and full aggreement not yet in as to if we have started on 24, it is interesting that there are strongly contrasting views as to how strong the next 11 year cycle will be. Here are two views from either end of the spectrum.
Continue reading Contrasting forecasts for Solar Cycle 24
Monthly Archives: December 2006
Albany Wind Farm underperforms
The Albany Wind Farm (AWF) on the south coast of Western Australia was commissioned in 2001 and at the time there was a blizzard of publicity including TV adverts with a young girl claiming that the facility would supply 75% of electric power for Albany.
I thought this sounded optimistic and emailed Western Power asking if they could supply monthly operating statistics. It took a while to get a reply but in September 2002 a representative of the operating company replied that the information was commercially sensitive and would not be available but that they had experienced less wind than normal in the winter of 2002. Continue reading Albany Wind Farm underperforms