Energy news in general

HillStreetBlues

There is nothing wrong with the direction of travel, what is wrong is setting a time to get to that destination based solely on hope.

Scot_39

The die is far from cast for future spend. 

And even DESNZ sees the failings - as reported to govt oversight PAC - not just now - but in past according to likes of

https://www.cityam.com/exclusive-government-admits-fossil-fuels-use-is-cheaper-than-net-zero-technology/

A lot of it could in fact be stopped from getting worse - or stopped right now.  Come 2029 issues like £8bn balancing could be a major battle ground.

1) No AR7 licenses or beyond.  until redesigned fit for purpose

2) Do not plan/ cost / license capacity / projects of any sort based on wholesale "farm gate" pricing - but at point of delivery pricing. 

Even the DESNZ has kind of admitted that is a major area of failing to PAC - that cheaper wholesale doesn't mean cheaper - whilst wholesale pricing looks good - the reality is that renewables are not in fact in short or medium term even - currently delivering cheaper energy at all to consumers - business and domestic alike.

3)Abandon spending £9.4bn taxpayers money of £22+bn total planned long term on CCS recently approved in this terms spending review - many greens consider it a waste.

4) Stop or heavily cap c5GW installed base of domestic dynamically - if even possible - on 1/2 hourly basis - solar being used for paid export to reduce curtailment payments to grid level renewables when there is no demand - offset by higher boosted peak payments - and even higher in emergency perhaps - to help avoid the likes of the much fussed about - but clearly misunderstood - short notice gas spin up highs.

5) (*) Or like the windfall tax - simpler maybe to add a new permanent levy - to build a minimum storage requirement or finance reliable core generation improvements - like the required for foreseeable fossil standby - CCS adaptions if still projected needed beyond say 2045 / 50. Or part CCS part storage. Or Hydrogen. 

mmmmikey

Hi @Scot_39 on a slightly different tack, how much would you estimate that you personally have saved through the use of green technologies over, say, the last 5 - 10 years? You're a regular contributor to this forum so you'll be aware of the money that other contributors have saved - not just by buying solar panels, heat pumps, batteries, EVs and so on but also by taking advantage of tariffs such as Octopus Agile which allow you to buy "green" energy at knock down prices when there's a surplus. To balance it out, once you've compared what you paid vs. what people who have done nothing paid, you need to take off an amount to reflect any additional standing charges you've paid to fund the green agenda. Anyone else want to have a stab at this?

MikeJXE

I have saved nothing and spent nothing on green technologies.

I have saved by being careful in what I use and that is demonstrated in by bill with the standing charge being more expencive than my usage costs 

Scot_39

mmmmikey said:

Hi @Scot_39 on a slightly different tack, how much would you estimate that you personally have saved through the use of green technologies over, say, the last 5 - 10 years? You're a regular contributor to this forum so you'll be aware of the money that other contributors have saved - not just by buying solar panels, heat pumps, batteries, EVs and so on but also by taking advantage of tariffs such as Octopus Agile which allow you to buy "green" energy at knock down prices when there's a surplus. To balance it out, once you've compared what you paid vs. what people who have done nothing paid, you need to take off an amount to reflect any additional standing charges you've paid to fund the green agenda. Anyone else want to have a stab at this?

Savings realisticallty none that are immediately obvious.

Not even grid load peak timeshifting payback - or other schemes.

Costs realistically - pro rata for unit rates and disroportionally in SC as a relatively low all electric user.

I am on E10 with old NSH and a low pressure gravity fed HW system / so cold fed electric shower.

Looked a few times - but without replacing at least heating if not both heating and HW / shower system - at a cost of £1000s (4 years ago well over £4k min - RF adds another £800 2 years later when checked) - there are no good off the shelf standard solutions with ALCS matched to tariffs that ideally suit.  

My next low cost route - is perhaps Snug - with the old kit - but need a new smets2 meter.

  And that might arguably be a green benefit / oversupply related tariff.  But that isn't guaranteed to work.

Octopus - I did try - weren't particularly clear even if would accept my E10 meter and if did - even if - let alone when - would upgrade meter to enable snug if did switch. Discouraged I didnt follow up.
EDit - asked and EOn won't upgrade smets1 to 2 until EoL - it's c2017 cert.  2 yrs if 10.

And chances are I might need to move for other reasons in next couple of years.

masonic

MikeJXE said:

I have saved nothing and spent nothing on green technologies.
I have saved by being careful in what I use and that is demonstrated in by bill with the standing charge being more expencive than my usage costs 

I don't know if a smart meter and TOU tariff could be considered green technologies, but those, together with load-shifting are how I'm keeping my bills down. Like you, standing charge effectively more than doubles my effective cost per kWh.

Scot_39

I see modern TOU tariffs like Cosy - more as a small evolution of conventional old fixed time RTS and E10 tariffs in many respects.  

But key currently without the ALCS control many still need for HW all year round and NSH in winter etc.

If their tracking green - generation on one side, demand on the other - I would expect the rates and even in future the timeslots to vary.

For instance, before Snug I did wonder if Cosy and off peak ACLS switching to match lowest rate might be supported.

Given the 100,000s now being moved onto smart to replace old RTS - I wonder if other suppliers - might also go after the same traditional market as Snug.  Or if say E10 - a TOU with matching ALCS - might become a more open tariff - on comparison sites etc - like E7 is.

debitcardmayhem

BBC today https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqjqzj8rnvyo 
more take up of EVs and heat pumps

JKenH

debitcardmayhem said:

BBC today https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqjqzj8rnvyo 
more take up of EVs and heat pumps

I am not sure why the BBC are running that story from their “climate reporter” today. There are no new statistics quoted and the data on which the report is based relates to 2024. Perhaps the Beeb climate reporter missed the SMMT figures which came out in the first week of January. Seems to me it’s just a bit of propaganda on behalf of HMG to encourage people to go electric.

JKenH

Cheaper energy part of 10-year plan for industry

Plans to lower energy costs for thousands of businesses by exempting them from some green energy levies have been set out as part of the government's new 10-year industrial strategy.

The measures, which could slash energy bills by up to 25% for more than 7,000 UK businesses….

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1ljnrrmd7jo

So, if removal of green levies will reduce energy bills for business users “by up to 25%” it follows that green levies must have been increasing their bills by up to a third.

Ah, wait a minute, if the green levies are being removed from business bills, where are they going to - general taxation, perhaps? Maybe, not if what the government says is correct - this strategy will put more money in people’s pockets.

The prime minister said the industrial strategy gave businesses "the long-term certainty and direction" they need to "invest, innovate and create good jobs that put more money in people's pockets".

The article also reports

Officials say existing subsidies for renewable energy producers will be stretched over a longer time frame, meaning more money in the pot in earlier years

Did no one at the BBC wonder how these measures they reported on would be financed?

Perhaps as we approach 2030 and renewables haven’t brought our bills down we will see green levies, social costs and infrastructure costs removed from our domestic bills and transferred to the magic money tree just like all the other measures.