LETTER : Power play

From Mr Dudley Williams

Sir: I disagree with Dr Simon Powles (letter, 24 February) who states that 50,000 tonnes of oil produce 100 million kilowatt hours of electricity. A 2,000MW oil-fired power station would generate 211 million units from this amount in approximately five days, assuming a realistic operating efficiency of 38 per cent and an oil heat content of 40,000 kilojoules per kilogram. It would take 4,000 large, noisy wind turbines of 500 kilowatts each to match a power station.

Yours faithfully,

Dudley Williams

Tenby, Dyfed