Solar ... In the news

jamesingram

grahamc2003 wrote: »

Not sure if the last sentence is a swipe at me or not, but I didn't mention our electricity costs relative to others - I just stated the fact that our electricity prices are rapidly rising, and I'm certain hat they'll rise rapidly for many years yet..

Graham , no not specifically a swipe at you , just trying to offer some relative data, regards energy prices.
Many in the UK complain about high energy prices , but as shown, relative to other similar nations , in terms of locality and wealth, UK energy price aren't currently that high.

Indeed this may well be a result of previously well managed infrasture and/or as Martin suggests , access to cheap primary energy resources

Energetic_2

Loose monetary policy in the major world economies is also causing energy price inflation. Thousands of Billions have been printed in the US, EU, UK, Japan, China to combat/obscure the global economic depression. The 3% inflation figure quoted currently by the BOE is laughable and is not representitive of what people are feeling in the real world.

To blame all energy price rises on renewables is being overly simplistic and a misrepresentation of the truth. Others here are trying to present a balanced argument but some seem to be only interested in pushing a certain viewpoint.

As i and others have said many times before we need a mix of energy sources whithin which renewables will play a vital part.

Graham and Cardew you two seem to have an endless capacity to criticise and even attack others viewpoints, how about answering mart's question constructiuvely?

What should the UK energy policy for the next 25 years be? in a nutshell please include how it would be sourced, funded and where necessary disposed of... And do it in another thread, this one is about news...

jamesingram

Energetic wrote: »

What should the UK energy policy for the next 25 years be? in a nutshell please include how it would be sourced, funded and where necessary disposed of... And do it in another thread, this one is about news...

What should the UK energy policy for the next 25 years be
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/59399305#Comment_59399305

leaving thisfree for solar news

spgsc531

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/feb/15/secret-funding-climate-sceptics-not-restricted-us

In the UK, wealthy rightwing donors also finance campaigns against policies to reduce greenhouse gases.

grahamc2003

Energetic wrote: »

Loose monetary policy in the major world economies is also causing energy price inflation. Thousands of Billions have been printed in the US, EU, UK, Japan, China to combat/obscure the global economic depression. The 3% inflation figure quoted currently by the BOE is laughable and is not representitive of what people are feeling in the real world.

To blame all energy price rises on renewables is being overly simplistic and a misrepresentation of the truth. Others here are trying to present a balanced argument but some seem to be only interested in pushing a certain viewpoint.

As i and others have said many times before we need a mix of energy sources whithin which renewables will play a vital part.

Graham and Cardew you two seem to have an endless capacity to criticise and even attack others viewpoints, how about answering mart's question constructiuvely?

What should the UK energy policy for the next 25 years be? in a nutshell please include how it would be sourced, funded and where necessary disposed of... And do it in another thread, this one is about news...

I'm so sorry I hold a different viewpoint to the average poster here, but then again, I thought that was the idea of a discussion board - you know, to have a discussion?

Also, we are free to discuss or not as we see fit, for example, I am not interested in some peoples' views, so I don't engage, and in one case have them 'ignored', so if they are asking me questions, then I'm obviously not going to know, or care.

The internet is full of peoples' opinions which aren't really based on anything more than bias or hope, so I expect some readers may appreciate an opinion from an informed basis. Although I know to many posters, that's the last thing they want to read.

Surprised no one has commented on Germany building lots of coal fired stations to dig themselves out of the hole they have created by having a penetration of intermittent renewables greater than their grid can cope with. I would have thought that situation would have solicited some views from others here who i expect think Germany is getting rid of coal, not building more. Does no one have a view on why that is?

Martyn1981

grahamc2003 wrote: »

Surprised no one has commented on Germany building lots of coal fired stations to dig themselves out of the hole they have created by having a penetration of intermittent renewables greater than their grid can cope with. I would have thought that situation would have solicited some views from others here who i expect think Germany is getting rid of coal, not building more. Does no one have a view on why that is?

Sadly, what Graham has failed to mention each time he mentions Germany and coal, is that they are building fast ramping coal burners that can be better integrated with generation from renewables.

Mart.

PS As for ignoring opinions, I thought that was just Graham's misinterpretation of what 'put up or shut up' means?

grahamc2003 wrote: »

Time to put up or shut up Martin.

It appears that somebody's word, is no better than their maths. M.

Energetic_2

grahamc2003 wrote: »

I'm so sorry...

Apology accepted...

jamesingram

Old news but interesting
"Entitled Solar power: Darkest before the dawn, the report predicts that despite subsidy cuts and a number of high-profile bankruptcies, solar capacity globally will continue to soar as costs fall by an average of 10 per cent a year through to 2020" http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2168375/mckinsey-solar-cost-competitive-decade

link to report ,
McKinsey on Sustainability & Resource Productivity
Solar power: Darkest before the dawn
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&sqi=2&ved=0CDwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mckinsey.com%2Fclient_service%2Fsustainability%2Flatest_thinking%2F~%2Fmedia%2F5E847C563A734F148B5F3A6EFBD46E39.ashx&ei=r58gUZrbEYnusgaw14H4DQ&usg=AFQjCNFoEQxvEhi4r_qPuYmu8qa8jqxFuw&sig2=5oPyV-IulzMvlCOoqmfyOA

Martyn1981

James, very interesting, glad I'm not the only one that is staggered:

"In terms of costs, we are at the point in 2012 where I thought we would be at in 2020," Aanesen admitted. "The pace of cost reductions has been staggering. When companies are building new energy infrastructure, solar will be a competitive option within this decade. It will be cost comparable to peaking plant within two to three years in some countries and comparable with base load plants by the end of the decade."

Also:

"Our analysis suggests that by the end of the decade, costs could decline to $1 per watt peak (Wp) for a fully installed residential system," the report states. "But even if costs only fall to $2 per Wp, the industry is still likely to install an additional 400GW to 600GW of PV capacity between now and 2020."

There have been some people already mentioning low quotes of approx $2/Wp, or £5k for 4kWp, on here. Shouldn't be long before the middle estimates start to solidify around £5k.

Mart.

spgsc531

Martyn1981 wrote: »

James, very interesting, glad I'm not the only one that is staggered:

"In terms of costs, we are at the point in 2012 where I thought we would be at in 2020," Aanesen admitted. "The pace of cost reductions has been staggering. When companies are building new energy infrastructure, solar will be a competitive option within this decade. It will be cost comparable to peaking plant within two to three years in some countries and comparable with base load plants by the end of the decade."

Also:

"Our analysis suggests that by the end of the decade, costs could decline to $1 per watt peak (Wp) for a fully installed residential system," the report states. "But even if costs only fall to $2 per Wp, the industry is still likely to install an additional 400GW to 600GW of PV capacity between now and 2020."

There have been some people already mentioning low quotes of approx $2/Wp, or £5k for 4kWp, on here. Shouldn't be long before the middle estimates start to solidify around £5k.

Mart.

Funny how not so long ago, some people were complaining that PV is ineffective and can't make any significant contribution to our electricity consumption, and now they say it's so powerful it'll blow the grid!!