A complaint often made by the armchair experts about wind farms is that they do not operate all the time.  In fact no power generation plant operates "all the time", even the most modern equipment requires to be shut down for periods of service and maintenance, although the advantage of fossil and nuclear based generation plant is that outages can usually be planned to coincide with periods of lower energy demand.  Most of the UK thermal power plant is serviced in the summer months. After the first year of operation, detailed analysis of the Allt Dearg generation data reveals that the wind turbines were exporting power for the vast majority of time.  The periods when Allt Dearg was not exporting totals an equivalent of 19 days.  This down time includes periods when the wind speed was either too high or too low to generate, when the turbines were being serviced and periods when faults on the grid prevented export. That Allt Dearg was supplying renewable energy for 8,304 hours in 2013, is testament to the excellent wind conditions on site and the dedication of the service team who keep the machines running. Of course the majority of Allt Dearg's generation occurs in the windier winter months when demand for electricity is greatest.