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  • Martyn1981
    Martyn1981 Posts: 14,762 Forumite
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    Exiled_Tyke wrote: »
    Which got me thinking - what has happened to electricity prices - as I haven't really thought about it much other than always looking out for the best deal. I found a bill from Jan 2013 when I was paying 11.65 p/Kwh. I'm now paying 9.5p and the standing charge is down 5p per day too. Perhaps others here may have been more aware than me? Hopefully interesting enough though.

    The drop in the gas price (driven I believe by its link to the oil price(?)) has been the main driver of the price reduction.

    I assume we'll see increases as coal drops off the grid, though its price is artificially low as it fails to account for air pollution and most of the CO2 cost. Gas will probably rise too. But the falling cost of renewables might be just in time.

    If large scale storage is viable and economic, then it could mean an end to the massive peak prices which can run into hundreds of pounds per MWH, which even if only for short periods can push up the average market price, which in turn will impact the prices the leccy suppliers offer us.

    I've posted this before, so apologies for repetition, but page 40 of this NAO report shows the significant revision that has been made on future wholesale leccy prices. By 2030 there's almost a £20/MWh (2p/kWh) difference now in expectations. This is part of the reason why CfD's are expected to contain a larger subsidy element, as can be seen on page 41 where the Hinkley subsidy is revised up from £6bn to £30bn (2013 v's 2016 expectations).

    Mart.
    Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)

    For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
  • Martyn1981
    Martyn1981 Posts: 14,762 Forumite
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    Onshore windfarms more popular than thought, UK poll finds
    The ComRes poll, conducted for climate change charity 10:10, found that 73% of the British public supported onshore windfarms, with just 17% opposed, and the rest not sure. Strong support remained even when only considering the views of those from rural areas, who might live near windfarms: 65% support versus 25% against.

    However, when people were asked what level of support they thought windfarms had across the country, just one in 10 said it was more than 70%. The average level of support estimated by people was just 42%, far below the true figure. Research for 10:10 conducted by Imperial College London showed that more than two-thirds of newspaper comment and editorial articles in the last five years were negative overall about windfarms.

    That's really impressive. I suspect the NIMBY attitude is reducing as more turbines are installed and folk find they are actually 'OK'.

    Hopefully one day on-shore wind will be as massively popular as PV (;)),
    The new poll showed even stronger public support for solar energy - 83% for and 8% against - but ministers have slashed solar subsidies.

    Mart.
    Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)

    For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
  • Martyn1981
    Martyn1981 Posts: 14,762 Forumite
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    Good news for the world, but Britain gets a 'could do better' from the teacher.

    Renewables made up half of net electricity capacity added last year

    (Not sure about H&S in the photo!)

    Mart.
    Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)

    For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
  • Martyn1981
    Martyn1981 Posts: 14,762 Forumite
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    Similar to last post, note this is capacity not generation, but yet another milestone:

    Renewable energy capacity overtakes coal

    Mart.
    Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)

    For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
  • Martyn1981
    Martyn1981 Posts: 14,762 Forumite
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary First Post
    edited 26 October 2016 at 8:34PM
    Dong Energy considers sale of oil and gas assets to focus on windfarms
    Offloading oil assets would result in the company, whose initials stand for Danish Oil and Natural Gas, focus on wind power instead, completing its transformation from fossil fuels to renewables.

    Perhaps a change of name to Dong Wind Power ..... DWP ..... perhaps not!
    Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)

    For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
  • Martyn1981
    Martyn1981 Posts: 14,762 Forumite
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    edited 26 October 2016 at 8:34PM
    Europe has bounced back a little on the world rankings, but UK is still slipping. Interesting brief on the European situation.

    New projects boost Europe's attractiveness to renewables investors
    Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)

    For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
  • Martyn1981
    Martyn1981 Posts: 14,762 Forumite
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    Some dramatic news for UK coal generation:

    UK coal-powered electricity projected to fall by record amount

    This article is suggesting a 2/3 drop on last year, if that's correct, then we could be looking at:-
    2014 31% of leccy generation
    2015 23%
    2016 8%?

    For comparison RE delivered

    2014 19.1%
    2015 24.7%

    Claims that coal is cheap seem at odds with the facts. As soon as the plants were required to clean up emissions, pay a bit more for CO2, and compete with a gas price drop, they collapsed.
    Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)

    For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
  • Martyn1981
    Martyn1981 Posts: 14,762 Forumite
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary First Post
    UK climate targets at risk without government support for windfarms, says energy boss
    The UK’s statutory climate advisers say that, while technically the UK’s carbon budgets could be met without onshore wind, doing so without it would be more expensive because it was so cost effective. Constraints on it would “necessitate deployment of more costly technologies and increase the cost of decarbonising the power sector,” the Committee on Climate Change said in the summer.

    Analysts at Bloomberg have said that wind power is already the cheapest form of new power in the UK, and Anderson said that more onshore wind would be essential to keep energy bills down. But he said it was “extremely doubtful” the company would build any new onshore wind without support.
    Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)

    For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
  • Martyn1981
    Martyn1981 Posts: 14,762 Forumite
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary First Post
    Evolt smart EV chargers to power up local power network trials
    Evolt has been selected to provide electric vehicle (EV) chargers for a nationwide trial aimed at better understanding the impact of EV chargepoints on local power distribution networks.

    Funded by Western Power Distribution (WPD) - the trading name encompassing four regional electricity distribution companies - the Electric Nation initiative aims to implement a prototype smart charging unit that will better manage power distribution at a local level at peak times.

    Interesting!
    Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)

    For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
  • Martyn1981
    Martyn1981 Posts: 14,762 Forumite
    Name Dropper Photogenic First Anniversary First Post
    Background - there has been an awful lot of Aussie RE news around for some years as it's a hotbed of debate/argument over FF v's RE.

    RE seems to be winning, as costs have tumbled. So it's interesting to see just how far, and fast some Australian states could move, and personally I'm shocked at the potential:-

    Deutsche Bank sees South Australia at 95% renewables by 2025
    Energy analysts at leading investment bank predict state of South Australia could easily beat aspirational target of 50% renewables by 2025, reaching 85% mark by 2020 and possibly as much as 95% by 2025.
    South Australia officially sources around 40% of its electricity from wind energy, and another 6% from rooftop solar. But with the completion of two new wind farms in the next 12 months – Hornsdale II and III – the share will likely total more than 50%, nearly 10 years before the government’s aspirational target.

    Deutsche Bank believes that share will continue to grow, given its excellent wind and solar resources, its stated ambition to attract another $10 billion in renewable energy investment, and the impact of the federal renewable energy target.
    Mart. Cardiff. 5.58 kWp PV systems (3.58 ESE & 2.0 WNW)

    For general PV advice please see the PV FAQ thread on the Green & Ethical Board.
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