Solar ... In the news

kevin6666

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/18bn-hinkley-point-nuclear-power-station-plan-could-be-coming-to-a-grinding-halt-a6997131.html

I wonder what the governments are concerned about when we have Wind & Solar to power us?

Martyn1981

kevin6666 wrote: »

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/18bn-hinkley-point-nuclear-power-station-plan-could-be-coming-to-a-grinding-halt-a6997131.html

I wonder what the governments are concerned about when we have Wind & Solar to power us?

The Government isn't concerned:

Minister admits lights would stay on even if Hinkley nuclear plant is delayed

UK energy secretary admits for the first time that any delays or cancellations to new nuclear reactors would not compromise national energy supply

All of this petty anti renewable subsidy, pro nuclear subsidy nonsense on a Green & Ethical Board, seems somewhat pointless!

Mart.

Martyn1981

Cardew wrote: »

I rest my case!

You had a case?

Mart.

Cardew

The opening sentence of Monbiot's article makes the case against FIT.

Those who hate environmentalism have spent years looking for the definitive example of a great green rip-off. Finally it arrives, and nobody notices. The government is about to shift £8.6bn from the poor to the middle classes.

Martyn1981

Cardew wrote: »

The opening sentence of Monbiot's article makes the case against FIT.

Those who hate environmentalism have spent years looking for the definitive example of a great green rip-off. Finally it arrives, and nobody notices. The government is about to shift £8.6bn from the poor to the middle classes.

Thank you for confirming what I've said.

The statement was completely false when it was originally made. The quoted FiT budget of £8.6bn (actually £6.7bn) was to be paid by all consumers from all sectors, not just the poor element of the domestic sector.

So, it seems your case is based on an entirely false claim, that you fell for hook, line and sinker.

What is sad, is that despite knowing for around 4 years or more, that the claim is false, you still use it as the central foundation of 'your case'.

Cardew, it's time to move on, it's over. Monbiot's article is a ridiculed nonsense, and PV and FiT have been massively successful in the UK and around the world. Repeatedly attacking PV and FiT on the basis of a totally false claim, is borderline trolling!

Mart.

EricMears

lstar337 wrote: »

Can we save this thread for News?

Plenty of space on the rest of of the board for discussing the various merits/demerits of FIT's.

Our newbie couldn't possibly have been expected to foresee the nonsense his/her simple query might stir up so can be forgiven; the rest of us (myself included) have no such excuse !

Are we to assume that there have been no truly newsworthy Solar items reported in the last few days ?

Martyn1981

EricMears wrote: »

Are we to assume that there have been no truly newsworthy Solar items reported in the last few days ?

It's been a little quiet. There's always something going on that I find interesting, but hard to tell if anyone else would care. Here's a couple.

China NEA release PV statistics for Q1

New PV installations amounted to 7.14 GW, including 6.17GW from ground-mounted PV plants and 970 MW from distributed PV power. Total cumulated installation capacity reached 50.31GW, including 43.29 GW and 7.03 GW for ground-mounted and distributed PV, respectively.

I find this interesting as it suggests a current theoretical install for China of 28GWp pa. Them's big numbers!


Senate passes energy bill with benefits for solar and renewable energy integration

However, buried in the legislation are a number of small gains which could be strategic for the future deployment of more solar PV in the U.S. electricity system. Significantly, the bill calls for programs to study grid modernization including the integration of renewable energy on the distribution grid. This includes orders for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct research, development and pilot programs for energy storage.

I've boldened the bit that jumped out at me. Expanding storage, and reducing the cost would allow for far larger amounts of PV (and wind) to be installed, than their capacity factors might suggest.


There is however a Catch 22 situation, since quoting foreign news, and/or articles from the PV press, usually results in complaints from Cardew. So sometimes a balance is needed to keep his post count down.

Mart.

Martyn1981

Here's a weird UK PV article:

Hundreds of panels stolen from field in Cambridgeshire

Initial reports suggest up to 192 could have been stolen from the unnamed farm, all of which would have had to have been disconnected from the site, suggesting the involvement of an electrician or someone familiar with solar technology.

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire police said the case was currently being considers of as “a one off” but due to the number of large solar installations in the area suggested it could be "the first of many".

Hard to imagine there is much market for second hand panels, especially since they will always be visible if installed, and serial numbers can be checked.

But it does reflect something I said years ago about rooftop installs saving land, security and insurance costs, compared to ground mounts. Basically there is a trade off between lower CAPEX on a large ground mount install, but higher OPEX.

Mart.

Martyn1981

Ikea are back, this time with normal panels and SolarCentury:

Solarcentury lands IKEA ‘Solar Shops’ contract

Looking at their website (I'm not going to link an advert for them) the price is around £5k for 3kWp, so not exactly cheap.

Mart.

groovyf

I've just read this too. I hadn't really spotted the disappearance of the Solar Panel's stand at my local IKEA and am wondering what happens (after-install warranty/support) for those who used them?