Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

pile-o-stone

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Tough one this, Swansea Council want to proceed with the tidal lagoon, great. But they now need private investors outside of any government subsidy scheme, not so great.

My understanding here is that the Swansea lagoon would produce leccy at a pretty high cost, up there with HPC, but, if it proves the consept, then much larger schemes such as the Cardiff lagoon (10x the generation) would generate at about half the cost.

So Swansea is really important, but really just to get the industry going, a bit like the early high PV rates, to prove the technology but to encourage a larger rollout at a lower cost.

I wonder if crowdfunding has ever gotten close to £1.3bn?

Swansea Council decides to build Swansea Bay tidal lagoon

I think they don't make enough of the additional infrastructure, such as the walkway/cycleway around the lagoon that will enhance tourism and improve the local area. I'd love somewhere like that to go on a morning run or cycle.

Are they able to utilise the lagoon for watersports such as windsurfing, kayaking, etc. or will the pull through the generators be too dangerous? If they can use the lagoon then that just adds to the tourist attraction, if they can't then perhaps they could fit floating PV like this:

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/united_utilities_doubles_down_on_floating_pv_with_second_reservoir_install

They would already have the power cabling fitted for the tidal generation, plus the pv panels are more efficient when they are cooler, which they would be if they're surrounded by water.

Exiled_Tyke

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45881551

It all get's very political, sadly. We really should be making huge leaps in progress on this stuff now.

zeupater

Martyn1981 wrote: »

Tough one this, Swansea Council want to proceed with the tidal lagoon, great. But they now need private investors outside of any government subsidy scheme, not so great.

My understanding here is that the Swansea lagoon would produce leccy at a pretty high cost, up there with HPC, but, if it proves the consept, then much larger schemes such as the Cardiff lagoon (10x the generation) would generate at about half the cost.

So Swansea is really important, but really just to get the industry going, a bit like the early high PV rates, to prove the technology but to encourage a larger rollout at a lower cost.

I wonder if crowdfunding has ever gotten close to £1.3bn?

Swansea Council decides to build Swansea Bay tidal lagoon

Hi

There's always the possibility that without a lucrative government honey-pot for designers, contractors & suppliers to dip their fingers into, the anticipated project costs will fall dramatically ...

HTH
Z

zeupater

Exiled_Tyke wrote: »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45881551

It all get's very political, sadly. We really should be making huge leaps in progress on this stuff now.

Hi

I don't really follow what the BBC fact-checkers are trying to say there ... for example, offshore wind development costs have fallen dramatically since the 2016 report they reference and the later 'more recent study' report from this year is of little relevance as it doesn't support the BEIS report at all - add to this the removal of the EU's MIP on PV panels and the associated effect on large-scale solar & everything changes ...

Really just shows how ineffective the BBC fact-checkers can be if they have no understanding of the subject they're looking into .... Caroline Lucas also has a different battle to fight, not with the Government or the BBC, but with the NIMBY 'Greens' that habitually oppose on-shore wind developments on a 'loss of amenity' basis ... I'd suggest she would be more effective at delivering by concentrating the majority of her effort into changing lobby & protest group opinion through convincing them to consider the whole 2000 piece jigsaw picture, not just the tiny fragment they hold ...

HTH
Z

Martyn1981

pile-o-stone wrote: »

I think they don't make enough of the additional infrastructure, such as the walkway/cycleway around the lagoon that will enhance tourism and improve the local area. I'd love somewhere like that to go on a morning run or cycle.

Are they able to utilise the lagoon for watersports such as windsurfing, kayaking, etc. or will the pull through the generators be too dangerous? If they can use the lagoon then that just adds to the tourist attraction, if they can't then perhaps they could fit floating PV like this:

https://www.solarpowerportal.co.uk/news/united_utilities_doubles_down_on_floating_pv_with_second_reservoir_install

They would already have the power cabling fitted for the tidal generation, plus the pv panels are more efficient when they are cooler, which they would be if they're surrounded by water.

Yes, it's worth pointing out that Swansea and Cardiff built barrages almost entirely for aesthetic purposes. The Cardiff one is great to visit with a strong tourism angle.

No idea if a tidal lagoon could be used for water sports. They would go from empty to full or full to empty in 3.5hrs, with a 2hr slacktide in the middle, so 9hrs of water from little to large and back to little. Perhaps too dangerous .... I've honestly no idea.

Discussions about the Cardiff lagoon suggested that the barrage wouldn't be open to the public, other than say during a marathon or sporting event. The wall would almost be a half marathon in length, so I suppose you could have issues getting ill people off, or evacuating if a big storm blew in all of a sudden ...... again, making this up as I go along.

Martyn1981

Exiled_Tyke wrote: »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45881551

It all get's very political, sadly. We really should be making huge leaps in progress on this stuff now.

That generation graph is a bit odd, it shows RE at about 1/2 the generation of nuclear, but RE caught nuclear in 2016, and passed it in 2017, and is way ahead this year nearly 30% v's 20%.

Also a shame that it starts in 2012, as gas generation appears to have risen to displace coal, whereas it was at those levels in the late naughties and dipped down a bit when coal went up, but the sum of coal and gas has dropped roughly by the same amount as RE has grown.

ed110220

Martyn1981 wrote: »

That generation graph is a bit odd, it shows RE at about 1/2 the generation of nuclear, but RE caught nuclear in 2016, and passed it in 2017, and is way ahead this year nearly 30% v's 20%.

Also a shame that it starts in 2012, as gas generation appears to have risen to displace coal, whereas it was at those levels in the late naughties and dipped down a bit when coal went up, but the sum of coal and gas has dropped roughly by the same amount as RE has grown.

The graph they publish doesn't even bear any relation to the figures they quote in the article: "The total electricity generation in the UK stood at 336 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2017, with 29.3% generated by renewable sources of energy."

29.3% of 336 TWh is 98.4 TWh, but the graph below shows about 35 TWh.

Ofgem has quarterly stats up to Q1 2018.

Totaling up the last 4 available quarters gives 64.9 TWh (19.4 %) from wind + solar, 3.4 TWh (1.6%) from hydro and 25.9 TWh (7.7%) from biofuels. If we total them up we get 96.22 TWh (28.8%)

That compares with nuclear at 63 TWh (18.9 %)

Martyn1981

A funny thing happened to me on the way to ...........

I'm posting this article simply because I read the title and thought meh! and went to move on. Then it hit me that 355GW's of RE (over 5yrs) is no longer a blow my mind headline - I think that in itself is good news?

Asia Pacific To See 355 Gigawatts Of Solar & Offshore Wind Boom In Next 5 Years

Martyn1981

Heard the one about RE generation being unreliable?

Belgium faces winter blackouts amid nuclear reactor shutdowns

A forced shutdown of one nuclear reactor in the lead up to winter may be regarded as unfortunate. But the closure of six of the seven reactors responsible for supplying 40% of Belgium’s electricity is raising eyebrows, even in a country so prone to chaotic administration.

I know that all forms of generation have their pluses and minuses, but faults with nuclear reactors can mean the loss of GW's of generation all at the same time. Is it naughty to point out that the EPR design for HPC is the one being built by EDF in Flamanville that has a faulty reactor lid which will need replacing? And it hasn't even started generating yet!

Martyn1981

Excellent news with RE in some parts of the world closing in on existing coal generation costs (where the cost of the plant may now be fully amortized) so only reflects running costs, fuel etc.. This is important as it not only means RE replacing new FF generation, so a future win, but could mean RE displacing generation from existing FF powerplants, and thereby reducing existing carbon emissions from existing demand.

New Renewables Cheaper Than Old Coal In Southeast Asia


And some positive news for UK floating off-shore wind.

UK Floating Wind Could Support 17,000 Jobs & Generate £33.6 Billion In Value By 2050