The Alternative Green Energy Thread

JKenH

Coal is currently generating 0% of Britain's power. The coal-free run has lasted 52 days and 9 hours so far.

Source: Drax Electric Insights. Last updated at 9:45am on 1 June

JKenH

I have seen numerous articles talking up the prospects of RE in the post Covid era but these are mainly from sources aligned with the the RE industry. This article in the Guardian suggests that the reality in the short term is that governments are likely to have other priorities and RE growth may stall before picking up again. Politically it may be more expedient for governments to be seen to be supporting existing jobs than creating new jobs that may take months or years to materialise. 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/20/coronavirus-fallout-to-slow-global-growth-in-renewable-energy?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

JKenH

JKenH said:

Coal is currently generating 0% of Britain's power. The coal-free run has lasted 52 days and 9 hours so far.

Source: Drax Electric Insights. Last updated at 9:45am on 1 June

But at a cost:

National Grid’s energy system operator arm expects to spend £500m more than usual this summer because it will need to pay generators to turn off their wind farms, solar projects or power plants.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/jun/02/uk-electricity-coal-free-for-first-month-ever?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Solarchaser

Excellent news indeed, let's hope they invest that 500M in storage, so that next year there is no need to turn off the wind farms, they can divert the power to batteries, or Hydrogen production.

JKenH

Solarchaser said:

Excellent news indeed, let's hope they invest that 500M in storage, so that next year there is no need to turn off the wind farms, they can divert the power to batteries, or Hydrogen production.

Well, that’s one way of looking at it. I presume you meant those receiving the payments should invest in storage but I would have thought it unlikely.  As the generators get paid more for not generating than generating I doubt that will happen.

Solarchaser

Yeah thats exactly who I meant

joefizz

JKenH said:

I have seen numerous articles talking up the prospects of RE in the post Covid era but these are mainly from sources aligned with the the RE industry. This article in the Guardian suggests that the reality in the short term is that governments are likely to have other priorities and RE growth may stall before picking up again.

Absolutely.

I have no doubt in the long run that RE will take over the majority from FF but and its a very big but there is a huge lag as Ive already mentioned on this forum before. Anyone can look up the tranches of offshore wind and the auctions and who has won and what is possible etc etc but a lot of that depended on the status quo.

The falling price of oil has hit the buffers on a lot of things, including future oil exploration and ramping down of currently producing wells that will never have the ability to turn on again. One more leg down/shock round autumn and it should kill off us shale for good.
Then of course the lags will come to pass with inflation taking off later this year from all the printed money handed out during covid etc etc.
Ive mentioned before the sort of ballpark I see oil at within the next 5-10 years and on the shorter side of that we would be short in renewables, and short by a lot. At the end of that ballpark, we wouldnt (under current plans but they may change).

I remember having a discussion on here about MOTs with someone (apologies, cant remember who) and how they facilitated the car industry by shortening lives of otherwise serviceable cars. Well guess what goes by the wayside in a crisis, MOTs, certainly over here. Extended by a year on both cars, including one thats MOT was up last september. Needs must and all that.

What this crisis is showing is exactly whats important. What will be carried forward is anyones guess at the minute, certainly more remote home working. A lot of the companies I know of or deal with have no real plans to come back to all staff in offices this calendar year and will revisit in December. Considering, for many that will be 10 months working from home, that will become the new normal.

All the single use plastics are back for hygiene reasons and a lot of green stuff has been binned. Ive a surplus of heavy plastic, metal and other 'normal' recyclables that are piling up because there are no facilities to recycle them. Another couple of weeks and I'll be cutting them up and putting them in the normal bin....

Going back to the issue of paid for non production, its definitely more profitable, you still need the normal inspection and maintenance but the physical wear on gears, bearings, shafts, etc etc plus being able to schedule downtime and get paid for it is great.
On the home front Ive been monitoring the issues I had last year with oversupply from my solar to my connection to the local substation, no problems at all this year because everyone is at home near me during peak times and out cutting grass , power tools, making fences etc etc.

JKenH

I thought I was going mad

A few days ago I was sitting in the summerhouse looking at the “West” elevation of the house. I noticed that at about 4.30 pm the sun was just catching the “North” gable wall. 

I was aware that the ridge of the house does not run true north/south, more NNW/SSE but even so I thought the sun was getting on to the “North” gable a little earlIer than I had expected. We then had a couple of dull days but the next time the sun made a fleeting appearance I checked what time it was exactly in line with the ridge of the house and it was as I had always thought about 12.30 BST.  Fortunately the sun graced us with another appearance that afternoon and I was able to confirm what I had noticed a couple of days earlier that the sun was indeed now at right angles to the ridge (and therefore the panels on my “West” roof) at 4.30 and not 6.30pm as I had always previously assumed. 

Odd, I thought; if the earth rotates 360 degrees in one day it should take 6 hours to travel through 90 degrees not 4 hours as observed. The more I thought about it the more I worried about my sanity. 

After a worrying couple of days I am pleased to report I am sane after all.

joefizz

JKenH said:

After a worrying couple of days I am pleased to report I am sane after all.

Sorry to hear that. Apparently it comes to us all eventually. ;-)

joefizz

Hearing rumours of a couple of things in the upcoming budget. With the current uk governments govern by twitter policy and scribble it all down 20 mins before the press conference, I take them with a pinch of salt.

Anyway one of them is a scheme to fund planting trees on privately owned land, anyone heard anything (or point to current, open, real schemes - jkenh?)

One of the other rumours is a land value tax... give with one hand, take away with the other ;-) Not sure how that would go down with their traditional voters but a winner with their new ones...