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Renewable energy

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  • Cardew
    Cardew Posts: 29,059 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Rampant Recycler
    RobM99 said:
    2. You are not buying 100% renewable electricity - if you were then you'd be sitting in the cold and dark when the wind didn't blow at night in winter.  

    Apart from power stations that burn wood.
    By that definition coal is renewable - it just takes a few thousand years
  • FreeBear
    FreeBear Posts: 18,182 Forumite
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    Cardew said:
    RobM99 said:
    2. You are not buying 100% renewable electricity - if you were then you'd be sitting in the cold and dark when the wind didn't blow at night in winter.  

    Apart from power stations that burn wood.
    By that definition coal is renewable - it just takes a few thousand years
    60 million years (lignite or brown coal) to 350 million years (anthracite). A very, very long carbon cycle compared to burning wood.

    Her courage will change the world.

    Treasure the moments that you have. Savour them for as long as you can for they will never come back again.
  • db3745
    db3745 Posts: 460 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts
    Just a thought and a question. I am with SO Energy and was just looking at their website and they claim "100% of the electricity we supply is from renewable sources." 
    So I know prices are high as we are importing Gas/Oil etc (to generate electricity) but couldnt we have a lower price for renewable energy, if SO Energy are 100% renewable based then they must be making a killing. Could we have a tier system for payments ie Renewable generated energy £x and imported £y, maybe as a percentage   it would also be a good way to track the investment the energy firms are making in to renewables as the balance should shift overtime to renewables
     are so energy in trouble? unable to contact by phone.

    Hope this helps. Been with So Energy for a few years now, and very happy with service. I put off reading meter till yesterday 10.00 a.m., and immediately tried to submit readings. For 24 hours on and off I kept getting an error message, seemingly inundated with like-minded customers. Through their Help link I was able to submit readings via live chat with minimal wait. I imagine their phone lines will be inundated too. You might try live chat.

  • Qyburn
    Qyburn Posts: 3,580 Forumite
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    edited 2 October 2022 at 11:08AM
    It's all nonsense anyway. Whether you sign up with a supplier that buys only renewable energy, or not, you get exactly the same mix of renewable neutral and fossil as everyone else.  And just because a supplier buys only renewable doesn't mean any more is produced, all it means is that other suppliers get less.  Renewable producers with their high capital cost and low running costs run flat out at all times unless told to switch off because the grid can't cope.

    There really is a lot of misunderstanding about all this. For example we had a tour of a hydrogen production plant.  There was a lot of talk about using renewable energy, and there were pictures of wind turbines on the walls as well just to prove it. However in really they run off the grid, and since the plant has to run for around 10 hours at a time there's no possibility of choosing times when the wind's blowing. And by the way they were "hoping to reach" around 65% efficiency.
  • Just a thought and a question. I am with SO Energy and was just looking at their website and they claim "100% of the electricity we supply is from renewable sources." 
    So I know prices are high as we are importing Gas/Oil etc (to generate electricity) but couldnt we have a lower price for renewable energy, if SO Energy are 100% renewable based then they must be making a killing. Could we have a tier system for payments ie Renewable generated energy £x and imported £y, maybe as a percentage   it would also be a good way to track the investment the energy firms are making in to renewables as the balance should shift overtime to renewables
    not clear at all is it this Energy biz?
  • Swipe
    Swipe Posts: 5,607 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Just a thought and a question. I am with SO Energy and was just looking at their website and they claim "100% of the electricity we supply is from renewable sources." 
    So I know prices are high as we are importing Gas/Oil etc (to generate electricity) but couldnt we have a lower price for renewable energy, if SO Energy are 100% renewable based then they must be making a killing. Could we have a tier system for payments ie Renewable generated energy £x and imported £y, maybe as a percentage   it would also be a good way to track the investment the energy firms are making in to renewables as the balance should shift overtime to renewables
    not clear at all is it this Energy biz?

    bumping old threads?
  • Scot_39
    Scot_39 Posts: 3,458 Forumite
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    doodling said:


    Many renewable generators are making a killing because of the high price of gas and consequent high value of electricity but hitting them with a windfall (no pun intended!) tax iwould probably upset the environmental lobby.
     Renewables suppliers - are subject to a special "excess profits" windfall tax.

    C Truss time they were supposedly trying to negotiate a new - if not quite CfD - price cap deal.  The suppliers refused.

    So turned to a windfall style levy -
     
    45% on profits derived from sales above £75/MWH wholesale.  When announced in Nov - the market rate was £260 according to :-




  • Scot_39
    Scot_39 Posts: 3,458 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 22 May 2023 at 4:11PM
    QrizB said:
    I accept what you write, but if a client pays for renewable electricity, that’s what they should be billed for - regardless of where it came from.
    Here, on Scottish Power's own website:
    Yes, with the final sentence which states:
    At ScottishPower, all our domestic green tariffs are backed by 100% green electricity, generated by our windfarms right here in the UK.

    Scotland on a good day - probably can supply all it's energy from renewables.

    But on a windless night it doesn't.

    And even if it was being generated in real time for you - but not everyone else - the grid is a mix of all sources - so what flows into your home - unless from your own turbine or solar panel - is never truly 100% green anyway.

    And that's where the Renewable Energy Certificates / or in wider EU terms - ReGOs (certificates of origin) - come in - for some suppliers.

    I suspect even the PPA and other systems referred to by Scottish Power are averaged out over time.Unless they really have 20 to 30x overcapacity for their specific green tariffs.  But could be wrong.

    But what both should mean - is that every kWh you buy - is invested in one form of another of renewables production - and is over time - I would hope on average actually supplied to the grid.
  • mongoose2009
    mongoose2009 Posts: 248 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Photogenic Combo Breaker
    edited 22 May 2023 at 5:34PM
    there are no special power  lines for "renewable" companies or customers

     it all comes from the same grid

    its just for the gullible

    so look here this is the generation mix

    https://gridwatch.co.uk/



  • macman
    macman Posts: 53,129 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Going back to the original suggestion posed {'SO Energy must be making a killing'): no, they are not, because they are a retail seller, not a producer or generator, and they pay exactly the same price for the energy they buy as a 'non-renewable' supplier does.
    Renewable energy can make more profit for the generator, but not necessarily for the retailer.
    No free lunch, and no free laptop ;)
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