Average temperature     = 6.0°C
 Average humidity        = 89%
 Average dewpoint        = 4.3°C
 Average barometer       = 1010.3 mb
 Average windspeed       = 4.6 mph
 Average gustspeed       = 10.7 mph
 Average direction       = 128° ( SE)
 Rainfall for month      = 116.8 mm
 Rainfall for year       = 116.8 mm
 Rainfall for day        = 1.9 mm
 Maximum rain per minute = 0.4 mm on day 30 at time 06:00
 Maximum temperature     = 7.2°C on day 30 at time 14:36
 Minimum temperature     = 5.1°C on day 30 at time 22:38
 Maximum humidity        = 95% on day 30 at time 08:58
 Minimum humidity        = 83% on day 30 at time 16:25
 Maximum pressure        = 1011.8 mb on day 30 at time 00:21
 Minimum pressure        = 1008.0 mb on day 30 at time 23:40
 Maximum windspeed       = 13.8 mph on day 30 at time 07:25
 Maximum gust speed      = 25 mph  from 135 °( SE) on day 30 at time 09:08
 Maximum heat index      = 7.2°C on day 30 at time 14:36

Bristol City Council could team up with a private company to build and operate two new wind turbines in Avonmouth in a project which will cost up to £6 million.

Planning permission for the 130m-high turbines, which will be among the tallest structures in the Bristol area, was granted earlier this month.

Now councillors are set to decide whether the council should build and operate the turbines itself or bring a partner on board to help.

But if the authority brings in outside help, money it makes from generating renewable energy will have to be shared with the private company.

Bristol City Council’s cabinet member for sustainable development Mark Bradshaw said: “Wind turbines will have a major impact in reducing the council’s carbon footprint and tackling climate change, and will also save thousands of pounds of taxpayers money.
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“This project, along with many other current initiatives to tackle transport and congestion, improve parks and green spaces, and increase our already significant recycling achievements, demonstrates our commitment to becoming a greener city and hopefully the first European Green Capital.”

The two wind turbines will have the potential to generate 12,600MWh of green electricity every year, which is one fifth of the council’s energy needs.

But energy market rules mean the council will have to sell the energy it generates to a supplier first, rather than using it directly, and will ‘buy back’ renewable energy elsewhere to power its offices, libraries, schools and street lights.

At current market rates, the turbines would generate £1.2 million of electricity a year.

It is understood the council might use the income from the first few years of the project solely to help cover the original outlay of up to £6 million.

If councillors agree to bring in a partner to help build and operate the turbines at a Cabinet meeting on Monday (Feb 2), a deal with a private company could be reached by September and wind turbines would then be sought.

In their report, council officers are recommending that a partner be found for the development.

The report says: “Option A (the council going it alone) would involve the city council carrying construction and operational risks, which would be better handled by an experienced wind turbine developer.

“Option C (securing a partner to build and operate the turbines in return for a fixed rent) would transfer all the risk to the developer with a consequential reduction in financial return.”

The turbines will be put up on the former Shell tanker site, which is council-owned land off Severn Road north of Avonmouth. The now-derelict site was used to store fuel in large tanks until the late 1970s.

The site was chosen because the wind turbines, which have a 25 year lifespan, would have an easy connection to the National Grid and enjoy “very good wind exposure”. There are also no homes within a third of a mile.

The area already has three 120m wind turbines, built by the Bristol Port Company and installed in 2007.

The exact size of the turbines has not yet been decided. But at most, their tip height will be 430ft (131m), rotor diameters will be 301ft (92m) and their hub height 279ft (85m).

The top of their rotor blades will reach nearly as high as the top of the towers of the M48 Severn Bridge, which reach 445ft.

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Bristol-s-wind-turbines-plan/article-657592-detail/article.html

 Average temperature     = 5.8°C
 Average humidity        = 92%
 Average dewpoint        = 4.7°C
 Average barometer       = 1012.8 mb
 Average windspeed       = 4.1 mph
 Average gustspeed       = 9.7 mph
 Average direction       = 113° (ESE)
 Rainfall for month      = 114.9 mm
 Rainfall for year       = 114.9 mm
 Rainfall for day        = 0.4 mm
 Maximum rain per minute = 0.4 mm on day 29 at time 10:52
 Maximum temperature     = 7.1°C on day 29 at time 03:38
 Minimum temperature     = 4.3°C on day 29 at time 21:38
 Maximum humidity        = 96% on day 29 at time 09:19
 Minimum humidity        = 88% on day 29 at time 20:54
 Maximum pressure        = 1013.7 mb on day 29 at time 10:31
 Minimum pressure        = 1011.4 mb on day 29 at time 23:03
 Maximum windspeed       = 9.2 mph on day 29 at time 21:14
 Maximum gust speed      = 22 mph  from 090 °( E ) on day 29 at time 21:15
 Maximum heat index      = 7.1°C on day 29 at time 03:38

A BITTER chill is expected to sweep across North Somerset over the weekend.

A cold snap from freezing air from Russia is expected to hit the region on Sunday night.

While the area will enjoy temperatures of six or seven degrees centigrade tomorrow (Fri), it will dip to minus three on Sunday and Monday.

A light snow shower is also expected on Monday.

http://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/content/twm/news/story.aspx?brand=Westonmercury&category=news&tBrand=westonmercury&tCategory=znews&itemid=WeED29%20Jan%202009%2013%3A28%3A23%3A447

After a freezing start to 2009, more icy blasts are heading for Britain

Another cold snap is heading for the UK, as forecasters warn of the chilliest winter for 13 years.

Icy winds from the continent will be felt in the south and east of the UK in the next few days, followed by a “blast of bitterly cold air” from Russia.

Temperatures in some areas are forecast to plunge from up to 7C (45F) on Saturday daytime, to between -1C (30F) and -3C (27F) on Sunday night.

BBC weather experts said snow was likely in some parts early next week.

Weather Centre forecaster Tomasz Schafernaker said daytime temperatures next week would be just above freezing, especially across eastern and central parts of the country.

He added there was a “risk of some snow flurries moving in from the North Sea”, meaning eastern coastal areas are most likely to see snowfall.

“Wind chill will add to the problems making it feel particularly bitter,” he said.

In London the maximum temperature will be 1C (34F) on Sunday, but will feel more like -7C (19F), said forecasters.

Icelandic woolies

So far this winter has seen temperatures between 1C and 1.5C below average. With a freezing start to February the season looks set to be the coldest since 1995/1996.

The coldest UK temperature ever recorded, of -27C (-17F), was equalled on 30 December 1995, in Altnaharra, northern Scotland.

The last widespread cold snap to hit the UK was early this month, although some parts of the country have seen snowfall in more recent weeks, including Scotland and Northern Ireland.

As the new year began, cold Arctic air was dragged across the country from the north, lingering for more than a week due to high pressure preventing it from moving away.

That cold snap triggered extra cold weather payment for millions of pensioners and vulnerable people.

The £25-a-week assistance comes into force when an area’s average temperature falls or is forecast to fall to 0C or below for seven consecutive days.

Heatwave down under

People in Iceland – a country currently in desperate economic trouble – have shipped jumpers and blankets to pensioners in England this week, to keep them warm in the winter.

A container of woolies arrived in the north-east of England after an appeal on an Icelandic radio station. They were handed to local charities in Hull on Thursday.

The campaign started after two Icelanders living in Manchester wrote to the programme, saying they were appalled by the numbers of elderly people dying from cold-related illnesses in England.

While the UK prepares for more freezing temperatures, Australia is experiencing the hottest weather for more than a century, with temperatures in some southern parts exceeding 45C (113F).

On Thursday the heatwave reached Tasmania, with the Australia Bureau of Meteorology reporting all-time record maximum temperatures of up to 19C above the January average.

Story from BBC NEWS:

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