Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

Martyn1981

Hi EVandPV, I watched this vid yesterday and thought you may be interested as it runs through the various forms of tidal energy, some projects, and the potential expansion. Quick spoiler on the question of why it isn't big (yet), is that the industry is still young, the forces involved are huge, economies of scale have not yet been achieved, and ideas/technology still developing. Plus wind and solar are cheap, especially when displacing FF's, so wind/solar intermittency not so important yet, but the value of tidal predictability will grow. Overall, positive.

Tidal energy could be huge – why isn't it?

EVandPV

Martyn1981 said:

Hi EVandPV, I watched this vid yesterday and thought you may be interested as it runs through the various forms of tidal energy, some projects, and the potential expansion. Quick spoiler on the question of why it isn't big (yet), is that the industry is still young, the forces involved are huge, economies of scale have not yet been achieved, and ideas/technology still developing. Plus wind and solar are cheap, especially when displacing FF's, so intermittency not so important yet. But overall, positive.

Tidal energy could be huge – why isn't it?

Yeah saw that one Martyn, answers quite a few of the questions about tidal.
The potential is massive, hopefully just a matter of time.

Exiled_Tyke

EVandPV said:

Martyn1981 said:

Hi EVandPV, I watched this vid yesterday and thought you may be interested as it runs through the various forms of tidal energy, some projects, and the potential expansion. Quick spoiler on the question of why it isn't big (yet), is that the industry is still young, the forces involved are huge, economies of scale have not yet been achieved, and ideas/technology still developing. Plus wind and solar are cheap, especially when displacing FF's, so intermittency not so important yet. But overall, positive.

Tidal energy could be huge – why isn't it?

Yeah saw that one Martyn, answers quite a few of the questions about tidal.
The potential is massive, hopefully just a matter of time.

EVandPV said:

Martyn1981 said:

Hi EVandPV, I watched this vid yesterday and thought you may be interested as it runs through the various forms of tidal energy, some projects, and the potential expansion. Quick spoiler on the question of why it isn't big (yet), is that the industry is still young, the forces involved are huge, economies of scale have not yet been achieved, and ideas/technology still developing. Plus wind and solar are cheap, especially when displacing FF's, so intermittency not so important yet. But overall, positive.

Tidal energy could be huge – why isn't it?

Yeah saw that one Martyn, answers quite a few of the questions about tidal.
The potential is massive, hopefully just a matter of time.

I'm hoping time doesn't run out before Simec Atlantis can make a success of tidal energy otherwise we will lose an important contributor to the the stream (pardon the pun?) of research and development.  

Exiled_Tyke

As I've already mentioned, I'm not yet convinced by Hydrogen as a player in the RE world.  However I'm willing to have my mind changed and this certainly suggests there is potential here. And if it means a bit of levelling up of the global economy then I'm all for it.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59722297

Verdigris

I think the equatorial belt of the land masses will play an important part in worldwide renewable generation. The more-or-less equal day length, year round, make it reliable and consistent energy source. I imagine you get more consisten diurnal effects to produce fairly reliable winds, too.

Martyn1981

I'm leaping ahead a bit here, but regarding levelling up, and equatorial zones, there's a reasonable argument to suggest that they could become production powerhouses in the future, since a lot of the cost of producing 'stuff' is the cost of energy, and they will be able to produce energy from PV at incredibly low cost. And as Verdigris points out, at highly reliable and consistent levels.

EVandPV

Scotland's 100% renewables electricity target narrowly missed

Scotland narrowly missed a key environment target for the equivalent of 100% of electricity used in 2020 to be generated from renewable sources.

Official figures show gross consumption from renewables - minus net exports - was 98.6%

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-59837782

Martyn1981

This is probably the 100th claimed great comeback for VAWTs, v's horizontal wind turbines, but this time there seems to be a good basis in a very specific role - VAWTs may be better than HAWTs for floating offshore use?

I won't hold my breath, but I will keep some fingers crossed, if for no other reason than I think VAWTs look really cool (not exactly a good technological argument, I accept).

Vertical Axis Wind Turbines Not Dead Yet, Says ARPA-E

Not to be discouraged, Texas has lent the University of Texas at Dallas to fulfill a new offshore wind turbine project funded by ARPA-E, which is the Energy Department office tasked with providing financial muscle for high risk, high payoff R&D programs that private sector investors shy away from.

This is not going to be your parent’s offshore wind turbine. ARPA-E wants to see a new generation of low cost, floating offshore wind turbines.

As ARPA-E sees it, the problem with today’s floating wind technology is that the wind turbines are modeled on the same conventional three-blade, vertical axis configuration as land based turbines, and they require a large, expensive platform in order to float.

ARPA-E put out the call for new designs for floating offshore wind turbines, and the University of Texas answered with a vertical axis design. Here, let’s have ARPA-E explain it:

“VAWTs [vertical axis wind turbines] offer advantages over traditional offshore wind designs because they have a lower vertical center of gravity and center of pressure; require a smaller, less expensive floating platform; do not need yaw control systems; and have the potential to reduce operations and maintenance costs due to platform-level access to the drivetrain.”

Coastalwatch

Martyn1981 said:

This is probably the 100th claimed great comeback for VAWTs, v's horizontal wind turbines, but this time there seems to be a good basis in a very specific role - VAWTs may be better than HAWTs for floating offshore use?

I won't hold my breath, but I will keep some fingers crossed, if for no other reason than I think VAWTs look really cool (not exactly a good technological argument, I accept).

Vertical Axis Wind Turbines Not Dead Yet, Says ARPA-E

Agree with you there Mart, if only to be able to erect one in our plot as there is insufficient space for the more traditional three blade HAWT which apparently are just not suited to the varyiing wind directions which exist in built up areas. But we seem to have been on the cusp of promising new designs in the past only to be disappointed. I wonder if they are destined to be just as elusive as that efficient process for the production of Hydrogen!

EVandPV

Some low Octopus Agile pricing tonight/tomorrow.
Negative prices for the first time in a while, as low as -3.5p tonight, and oddly only 3.3p at 7.30pm tomorrow. 🤔
Down at -4.75p at 6am this morning too.