Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

zeupater

Hi

Probably even greater is the full exposure of a broken energy market in the UK and elsewhere .... of course this resulted from a set of deliberate courses of actions to shape the market towards renewables and to make investment in renewable technologies look extremely profitable vs fossil fuels to those looking to invest, however what's happened recently has exposed the degree to which the market can be manipulated to enhance margins.

What has been hidden in a veil of general acceptability under a cloak of smoke & mirrors for years has been raised to the surface by nothing more than greed ... the energy sector has been too quick to run towards the glint of El Dorado that they've exposed both themselves and the use of market pricing policies as not being fully in the interests of the general public to a degree where political pressure will be deemed necessary in order to rein in the potential excesses when future 'issues' are used to drive ff prices ....

Levelised energy pricing based on the most expensive source is an outdated & therefore broken methodology (/policy) which should have been considered for replacement when renewable energy sources started to become price competitive ... it looks like Ofgem have been shown to either be incompetent, ineffective or totally under the influence of the energy sector for no reason other than to maintain margins as there's no evidence immediately apparent that enhanced sector earnings derived from the current setup will be fully diverted to ensuring a future renewable/sustainable energy mix, which is the very thing that was added to their portfolio, which should now comprise .... supply, consumers & sustainability ...

Whatever happens to prices in the short term, looks to me that there'll be some serious carpet lifting in order to quell the inevitable consumer anger when people finally understand the situation .... yes, the market has been manipulated, yes the system was designed to encourage renewables, yes the government & Ofgem have been complicit in maintaining a system which is open to manipulation .... the issue then is public perception and how this reflects on renewables in the future ... will effectively having their pockets picked cause a general consumer backlash which will cause long term harm to the perception of renewables - well unless the broken system is fixed quickly I really do have my worries ... as for the perception of the drive towards climate change, well that was already on a steep downwards slope and issues such as the exposure of market manipulation can only add fuel to the fire ...

When, oh when, will people realise that there is such a thing as 'too much of a good thing' .... push an initially good/popular idea so much that it sticks in the throat, then push it further with a level of zeal that it seems to become a new religion, then intentionally stand aside effectively laughing when everyone's pockets are being picked .... and yet expect anyone to believe it's all in a 'good cause', it's for the 'greater good' & we'll 'build back better' when it's done (anyway, what is 'it' & how will we know when 'it's' done?) ....

Wakey wakey .... it's time for a rethink, let's just hope that the harm to the basic idea of improving the quality of life for everyone whilst not destroying our supporting ecology isn't already greater than it looks ....

So, how does it look? ... well, for a start think about wind .... by how much is the strike point CFD pot overflowing? ... or are the contents magically spirited away through some wizardry bean counting .... so, after this round of exceptionally high energy prices based on (supposed) inflated market price for gas, which have had no effect on wind, solar, nuclear, hydro etc generation costs, is there enough in the pot to buy a couple of Severn Barrage sized projects and finance them with piles of ready-cash? .... time will tell, but the amount of time will be directly related to the level of manipulation & corruption that needs to be subjected to 'diversionary measures' ....

Whoops - didn't think it was deserving of that much rant ... but that's the issue, everyone should be ranting over such an obvious, appalling & illogical mess unless they're (a) ideologically complicit related to enforced societal restructuring and/or (b) seeking personal gain ... could it be yet another example of what was once a decent & good idea being hijacked and driven metal to the floor because the window of opportunity before inevitable discovery & backlash is perceived as being quite limited ...

HTH - Z   

#edit - new laptop browser spellcheck fixed!!             

Coastalwatch

My Zeup that certainly exposes the weakness's in the current system which desperately need addressing.

From my understanding those on the CFD scheme will not benefit beyond the price the contract was agreed at the time of setting up, with any surplus contributing to the enormous pot the Severn barrage or other renewable schemes could benefit from!

Presumably it is the remainder who are doing very nicely, in the case of the FF industry some even finding it's way to shareholders.

Quite where the sums destined for the nuclear industry might end up I've no idea. As we appear to be dependent upon not so friendly countries for nuclear fuel itself then no doubt we shall be held to ransome for this also.

As you say a right mess with the few gaining enormously at the expense of the many. But how much worse it would have been had the build out of renewables not been encouraged.

Where do we go from here?

michaels

We are taxing excess profits with a 75% windfall tax so it seems most of then producer surplus is going to the government. Basic economics suggests then price adjusts to equate supply and demand with lower cost suppliers making profit, not sure why people suddenly find this a surprise in the electricity market?

There is no fix or stich up, just windfall profit being taxed. Economics 101.

gefnew

This is slightly different take on heating a home may be costly.

Farewell radiators? Testing out electric infrared wallpaper - BBC News

paul991

could not see any stats on running costs or installation

Martyn1981

gefnew said:

This is slightly different take on heating a home may be costly.

Farewell radiators? Testing out electric infrared wallpaper - BBC News

Yeah, as you say costly. Not sure any 1:1 electric heating should be encouraged now, given we have ASHP's, or just A2A add-ons. But every idea helps with choice and comparisons I suppose.

Exiled_Tyke

Martyn1981 said:

gefnew said:

This is slightly different take on heating a home may be costly.

Farewell radiators? Testing out electric infrared wallpaper - BBC News

Yeah, as you say costly. Not sure any 1:1 electric heating should be encouraged now, given we have ASHP's, or just A2A add-ons. But every idea helps with choice and comparisons I suppose.

Couldn't agree with you more.  I saw the article and frankly didn't think much of it so didn't post it up here.  As it says the running costs are little different to gas at current prices and there are far greener ways to go with heating then really what's the point?  I noticed the homeowner also says getting solar panels will help with the running costs! Well I've got news for him.......  

silverwhistle

michaels said:

We are taxing excess profits with a 75% windfall tax so it seems most of then producer surplus is going to the government.

I'm not sure how it's been designed but I saw a reference to the treasury being disappointed that the yield was less than expected. Not particularly surprising with international companies and transfer pricing..

The legacy oil companies don't really seem to have grasped the nettle of change yet. Ask any EV driver about the BP or Shell networks, you are likely to get a very cynical answer.

I'm planning a trip North and want to visit a friend in Brum on the way so I looked for nearby chargers on Zapmap. BP charging 57p a unit for a 3kwh charger, which seems to indicate they don't want it to be a success.

Martyn1981

Slowly slowly, catch a sea monkey.

Bit of tidal and wave news:

European ocean energy study identifies 70GW potential

Great Britain, Ireland and Portugal, together, have 70GW of ocean energy resource potential, according to a European study.

Results from the pan-European EVOLVE has identified close to 60GW of “practically viable” wave energy and 10GW of tidal stream energy off the three countries.  

The EVOLVE project, comprising academics, research institutions and technology developers, has provided a “firm evidence base” supporting the acceleration of ocean energy in Europe’s future energy system.

The spatial modelling study identified ocean energy resources of 34.8GW in Great Britain, 18.8GW in Ireland and 15.5GW in Portugal.

Projections further indicate that 10GW of ocean energy installed in Great Britain alone could save £1.46bn per year in power system dispatch costs.

MPs call for more tidal and marine

A Parliamentary Committee has called for the UK to generate a “significant proportion” of its power from tidal and marine energy.

A new report published by the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) today highlights that in the British Energy Security Strategy tidal technologies get “scant attention” despite tidal range having a significant benefit of predictable and reliable, year-round, energy generation.

The report, titled “Accelerating the transition from fossil fuels and securing energy supplies”, stated: “Tidal energy projects should be a vital component of the Government’s strategies for delivering both net zero and energy security.”

The EAC recommends that “the UK should be aiming to generate a significant proportion of its power from these sources by the middle of the 2030s”.

The Government should match this with “Great British Tidal Range” and an equal development fund to bring forward the 13GW of Tidal range projects currently proposed, said the BHA.

Exiled_Tyke

And meanwhile Simec Atlantis has the rights for a massive (I can't be bothered looking up how big - sorry) tidal array off the north coast of Scotland but is floundering with a big hole in it's finances because the Welsh government blocked another project to convert a coal-fired power station to a greener electricity production.