Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

NigeWick · 14 June 2017 at 2:11PM

Martyn1981 wrote: »

We've mentioned Tony Seba elsewhere, and his calcs on the disruptive effects of PV. He points out PV accounts for 1.5% of energy supply, but that the amount of PV has been doubling every two years, so theoretically, 6 to 7 doublings, could mean 100% of energy from PV by 2030.

Five solar doublings plus wind, wave, hydro & batteries and we should just about be there.:beer:

But as we've both said, the political will isn't there so it will be led by market forces as the costs come down for solar & batteries.

As an aside, I tried using the charger timer on my new Leaf and loaded up with Economy 7 from Ecotricity. Tootling round town is working out at a fracsh under 2p per mile. I'll now start charging using solar when my 4kW system is making enough for the car to take 3kW.

lstar337 · 14 June 2017 at 2:24PM

NigeWick wrote: »

I refer you to what happened in New York and Washington a few years back. A light aircraft packed with explosives flown by a nutter taking off from a nearby small airfield would have no real problem. Or, they could buy an old armoured car/tank, pack that full of explosives and drive through the fence and brickwork.

I didn't say it wasn't possible, just why would they bother?

Buy a small tank or aircraft, or simply do something else with just as much impact that requires neither of those things?

Simple choice really.

NigeWick · 15 June 2017 at 9:21AM

lstar337 wrote: »

I didn't say it wasn't possible, just why would they bother?

The clue is in the words "terrorist" and "terrorism" who are unfathomable as to what they will bother with.

Martyn1981 · 15 June 2017 at 11:12PM

BNEF have issued their latest report on energy, New Energy Outlook 2017.

There's a look at it on Cleantechnica, which points out the simply staggering cost reductions expected for wind (especially off-shore) and PV.

Solar & Wind Costs To Plummet And Global Emissions To Peak In 2026, Forecasts BNEF

Bloomberg points out that solar energy is already as cheap as coal in countries like Germany, Australia, the United States, Spain, and Italy, but by 2021 solar is expected to be as cheap as coal in countries like China, India, Mexico, the UK, and Brazil.

Similarly, costs for onshore and offshore wind are also expected to fall over the next few years. Bloomberg predicts that onshore wind energy costs will fall fast, dropping 47% by 2040, on top of the existing 30% price decrease onshore wind has seen over the past eight years. However, the bigger story is that offshore wind costs will absolutely plummet, dropping 71% by 2040, on top of existing price decreases we have already seen in places like Germany and the UK.

michaels · 16 June 2017 at 12:18AM

NigeWick wrote: »

Five solar doublings plus wind, wave, hydro & batteries and we should just about be there.:beer:

But as we've both said, the political will isn't there so it will be led by market forces as the costs come down for solar & batteries.

As an aside, I tried using the charger timer on my new Leaf and loaded up with Economy 7 from Ecotricity. Tootling round town is working out at a fracsh under 2p per mile. I'll now start charging using solar when my 4kW system is making enough for the car to take 3kW.

If you charge from a standard plug socket like us it only pulls 2.2kwh which our pv does this time of year between 11am and 7pm.

Dave_Fowler · 16 June 2017 at 11:22AM

michaels wrote: »

If you charge from a standard plug socket like us it only pulls 2.2kwh which our pv does this time of year between 11am and 7pm.

I've got my 2.2kW EV charger connected to the auxiliary output socket on the proportional immersion controller. So whenever there is excess power available it can be used to charge the car. My aux out socket is not proportional so there is no problem connecting it to the car's charger.

The logic of my controller is such that if the solar panels generate more than 3kW excess (the immersion load) the aux socket turns on. When the car takes 2.2kW, the proportional controller cuts down the power to the immersion as necessary. Should subsequently the solar panel output reduce below 2.2kW, the aux socket turns off and all the excess power is diverted back to the immersion.

Dave F

Martyn1981 · 17 June 2017 at 8:56AM

Drax may convert it's remaining 3 coal boiler units to gas:

Drax says may convert coal units to run on gas

Martyn1981 · 17 June 2017 at 1:23PM

This action by China alone, may be enough to start the the EV disruption of the car industry. Once started it'll be unstoppable.

China: 12% Electric Cars By 2020 … Or Else

michaels · 17 June 2017 at 2:06PM

Martyn1981 wrote: »

This action by China alone, may be enough to start the the EV disruption of the car industry. Once started it'll be unstoppable.

China: 12% Electric Cars By 2020 … Or Else

I suspect China see electric cars as a way for their auto industry to leap-frog existing producers and spearhead a global sales push.

michaels · 17 June 2017 at 2:08PM

Dave_Fowler wrote: »

I've got my 2.2kW EV charger connected to the auxiliary output socket on the proportional immersion controller. So whenever there is excess power available it can be used to charge the car. My aux out socket is not proportional so there is no problem connecting it to the car's charger.

The logic of my controller is such that if the solar panels generate more than 3kW excess (the immersion load) the aux socket turns on. When the car takes 2.2kW, the proportional controller cuts down the power to the immersion as necessary. Should subsequently the solar panel output reduce below 2.2kW, the aux socket turns off and all the excess power is diverted back to the immersion.

Dave F

Sounds like a good set up - if I was picky I might worry whether frequent on/off of the power whilst charging might be bad for the car charging unit or batteries.

Our set up is less flexible, the iboost in the loft sends export to the immersion and we plug the car in during the period when the panels could be producing more than 2kwh, possibly being a bit flexible depending on the level of sunshine and how much juice the car needs.

Green, ethical, energy issues in the news

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