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Post by michael on Nov 29, 2022 19:36:18 GMT
You’re paying inflated gas prices because it has become the fuel that takes up the slack when the wind doesn’t blow and/or the sun doesn’t shine. On top of this carbon taxes pay for the windmills even when the wind doesn’t blow. Good investment for those who can afford to invest but paid for disproportionately by those less fortunate. I drove from Sussex to Hertfordshire then on 5o Warrington and every wind turbine I passed was sitting perfectly still. But then that's why perhaps it's not so silly to be banning onshore in favour of investment in offshore wind which generates a much more consistent level of power. As of 7pm today wind, offshore and on, is generating 3% of our electricity needs. We haven’t even banned gas boilers and internal combustion cars yet so that’s £70billion for 3%. |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Nov 29, 2022 20:57:38 GMT
I drove from Sussex to Hertfordshire then on 5o Warrington and every wind turbine I passed was sitting perfectly still. But then that's why perhaps it's not so silly to be banning onshore in favour of investment in offshore wind which generates a much more consistent level of power. As of 7pm today wind, offshore and on, is generating 3% of our electricity needs. We haven’t even banned gas boilers and internal combustion cars yet so that’s £70billion for 3%. You’re being very selective with your figures; last year wind delivered 26% of our electricity. 43% from renewables in total. |
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Post by michael on Nov 29, 2022 21:17:03 GMT
As of 7pm today wind, offshore and on, is generating 3% of our electricity needs. We haven’t even banned gas boilers and internal combustion cars yet so that’s £70billion for 3%. You’re being very selective with your figures; last year wind delivered 26% of our electricity. 43% from renewables in total. How much wind capacity do we need to generate 43% of our electricity right now and how much will it cost? |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2022 0:40:06 GMT
You’re being very selective with your figures; last year wind delivered 26% of our electricity. 43% from renewables in total. How much wind capacity do we need to generate 43% of our electricity right now and how much will it cost? At least a 24 pack of full strength and real sugar Heinz beans per, at a guess. Whether that is per diem or per week is a puzzler......... |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Nov 30, 2022 9:00:59 GMT
You’re being very selective with your figures; last year wind delivered 26% of our electricity. 43% from renewables in total. How much wind capacity do we need to generate 43% of our electricity right now and how much will it cost? Again, you're being disingenuous. We know the wind doesn't blow all the time, but offshore it does blow most of the time. The purpose of CCGT plants is to fill in for wind. This is the hourly averages for this month which paints a different picture.  |
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Post by michael on Nov 30, 2022 9:30:41 GMT
That chart demonstrates my point that wind is unreliable. It has barely contributed in the last 24hrs. The green movement want us to end gas use, they don’t like nuclear so where on days like today will our energy come from?
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Post by johnc on Nov 30, 2022 10:36:41 GMT
Sometimes you have to choose between a rock and a hard place and the only viable non fossil fuelled option open to us is nuclear with battery storage for power generated by wind and solar when usage is less than the power produced. Something else might come along as technology advances but we need to take care of the next 40/50 years and regardless of what the greens say, there is no sustainable, reliable alternative.
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Post by Big Blue on Nov 30, 2022 11:19:58 GMT
That solar farm I pointed out earlier is also planning on having the largest battery in the U.K. Future generating projects will do the same and so on. I think the biggest concern is not the move away from fossil fuel reliance, more the proposed timescales. After 140 years of coal-fired, 80 years of gas-fired power stations and 70 or so years of domestic gas boilers phasing it out in 13 years with current technology, infrastructure, planning consents and construction times allied to the existing reliance model is little short of insane.
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Post by michael on Nov 30, 2022 11:34:16 GMT
My concern with existing battery technology is that it’s far too expensive. I have heard of systems that compress air to then drive turbines which is an exciting development but in terms of global competitiveness we’re loading ourselves with ultra high energy costs making us a far less competitive place to live and do business.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 30, 2022 11:54:21 GMT
Perhaps solid state will improve things but we are not on the bandwagon so that will just have to take longer.
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Post by johnc on Nov 30, 2022 13:05:04 GMT
Perhaps solid state will improve things but we are not on the bandwagon so that will just have to take longer. ILIKA is a UK company involved in the development of solid state batteries. I made a 500% gain on their shares last year but since I sold them they have plummeted (not my doing!). They have had successful tests and are currently building a manufacturing facility. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and might consider sticking my toe in the water again with the low price. |
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Post by Tim on Nov 30, 2022 14:44:16 GMT
Nobody's mentioned tidal/wave power.
If a decent slug of money was put into that I'm sure it would be able to produce a decent volume of reliable power.
I also don't understand why there doesn't appear to be any sort of encouragement for hydro - there are plenty of places that could be added up here.
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Post by johnc on Nov 30, 2022 16:39:47 GMT
I also don't understand why there doesn't appear to be any sort of encouragement for hydro - there are plenty of places that could be added up here. Apparently whoever it is that needs to decide on a price for electricity generated through any new hydro scheme is a pure clown and grand ditherer and as a consequence no-one is prepared to commit to invest in building new hydro plants if they don't know what they will get when they start generating. Several sites in Scotland have been highlighted but someone somewhere won't give them a f*cking tariff. It really isn't difficult! |
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Post by Tim on Nov 30, 2022 16:59:40 GMT
I also don't understand why there doesn't appear to be any sort of encouragement for hydro - there are plenty of places that could be added up here. Apparently whoever it is that needs to decide on a price for electricity generated through any new hydro scheme is a pure clown and grand ditherer and as a consequence no-one is prepared to commit to invest in building new hydro plants if they don't know what they will get when they start generating. Several sites in Scotland have been highlighted but someone somewhere won't give them a f*cking tariff. It really isn't difficult! I know they're quite expensive - if you're self funding. A previous employer off the west coast went through the planning process and was a long way in, in terms of cash, before a spade went near the ground. Can't remember the size of plant but it wasn't big and was on their own land. |
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Post by johnc on Nov 30, 2022 17:45:32 GMT
Some of these schemes are major projects that will cost many tens of millions - they just need to be given a guaranteed tariff!
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Post by woofwoof on Nov 30, 2022 18:05:37 GMT
Perhaps solid state will improve things but we are not on the bandwagon so that will just have to take longer. ILIKA is a UK company involved in the development of solid state batteries. I made a 500% gain on their shares last year but since I sold them they have plummeted (not my doing!). They have had successful tests and are currently building a manufacturing facility. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and might consider sticking my toe in the water again with the low price. Wishing them every success. |
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Dec 1, 2022 6:33:15 GMT
Some of these schemes are major projects that will cost many tens of millions - they just need to be given a guaranteed tariff! Why would any company invest in one of these major projects when any profits they make could be subject to arbitrary and unlimited “windfall taxes”? |
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Post by Tim on Dec 1, 2022 8:34:48 GMT
I think in the case of, at least, wind then the windfall taxes are justified except the reason they're making these excess profits is because their price has been aligned to a different energy source.
Perhaps the real lesson here is that the price should stand on its own now.
I remember someone else on here made the point that their supplier proudly states all their energy generation comes from renewables yet the price has jumped up massively. Time to stop that I reckon.
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Post by johnc on Dec 1, 2022 9:22:09 GMT
If the business case was there for wind powered generation several years ago when the price of electricity was "low", there is no justifiable reason that the owners of the windfarms should profit so greatly from what is an essential resource. Energy and water supplies have to be priced at a level which keeps them available and affordable for all and those who invest have to recognise that it has a few more restrictions than other investments although demand can virtually be guaranteed.
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Post by Big Blue on Dec 1, 2022 10:37:54 GMT
I think in the case of, at least, wind then the windfall taxes are justified except the reason they're making these excess profits is because their price has been aligned to a different energy source. Perhaps the real lesson here is that the price should stand on its own now. I remember someone else on here made the point that their supplier proudly states all their energy generation comes from renewables yet the price has jumped up massively. Time to stop that I reckon. Yep. That was me. I’ve not only worked on a major project for my supplier but they are also a prospective client with a proposal written by me being considered now. Some of the infrastructure projects they’re working on are based on the unit model currently in force. I agree with Bob: why invest in something that if a success is going to return less to your investors because apparently making money is immoral in the modern capitalist society? Anyway, totally unrelated: the guaranteed price per unit model for Hinckley C which caused uproar at the time of project commencement is a fucking bargain compared to the current spot price even with inflation added as per the deal. |
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Post by michael on Dec 1, 2022 11:25:19 GMT
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Post by PG on Dec 1, 2022 21:11:24 GMT
We are using about 25% less gas and 20% less electricity than we were last year and our monthly DD is just under 3 times what it was 18 months ago! We turn off lights, everything is LED, we use the microwave instead of the oven and if we use the oven we use the small one instead of the big one. The dishwasher doesn't go on until it is full or it smells and we hardly use the tumble drier any more - all of that and it only saves 20%. I want to know what is happening to the other 80%. I appreciate that a certain Jaguar probably eats about £40/£50 a month but still how are we using nearly £2,500 worth of electricity? Base load is pretty shocking in most houses - ours included. Fridge, freezer, boilers, stand by stuff, computers, charging your phone etc etc. When we had an OWL monitor some years ago I turned off every light and possible reduction I could think of and the usage was still shocking. |
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Post by PG on Dec 1, 2022 21:13:26 GMT
I think in the case of, at least, wind then the windfall taxes are justified except the reason they're making these excess profits is because their price has been aligned to a different energy source. Perhaps the real lesson here is that the price should stand on its own now. I remember someone else on here made the point that their supplier proudly states all their energy generation comes from renewables yet the price has jumped up massively. Time to stop that I reckon. Yep. That was me. Anyway, totally unrelated: the guaranteed price per unit model for Hinckley C which caused uproar at the time of project commencement is a fucking bargain compared to the current spot price even with inflation added as per the deal. Yes, that uproar was deafening wasn't it - and now it looks a bargain. Shame that Nick Clegg was such a dick-head or else we might have a few more reactors being built. |
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Post by bryan on Dec 2, 2022 21:20:45 GMT
We are using about 25% less gas and 20% less electricity than we were last year and our monthly DD is just under 3 times what it was 18 months ago! We turn off lights, everything is LED, we use the microwave instead of the oven and if we use the oven we use the small one instead of the big one. The dishwasher doesn't go on until it is full or it smells and we hardly use the tumble drier any more - all of that and it only saves 20%. I want to know what is happening to the other 80%. I appreciate that a certain Jaguar probably eats about £40/£50 a month but still how are we using nearly £2,500 worth of electricity? Base load is pretty shocking in most houses - ours included. Fridge, freezer, boilers, stand by stuff, computers, charging your phone etc etc. When we had an OWL monitor some years ago I turned off every light and possible reduction I could think of and the usage was still shocking. Our base load runs at about 200w/Hr, which I don't think is too bad at around 10p an hour |
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Post by PG on Dec 2, 2022 21:47:33 GMT
Base load is pretty shocking in most houses - ours included. Fridge, freezer, boilers, stand by stuff, computers, charging your phone etc etc. When we had an OWL monitor some years ago I turned off every light and possible reduction I could think of and the usage was still shocking. Our base load runs at about 200w/Hr, which I don't think is too bad at around 10p an hourSounds cheap, until you realise that's £800 a year before you turn a light on.  |
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Post by Alex on Dec 2, 2022 23:33:31 GMT
Our base load runs at about 200w/Hr, which I don't think is too bad at around 10p an hourSounds cheap, until you realise that's £800 a year before you turn a light on. Does that include the standing charge? |
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Post by bryan on Dec 3, 2022 9:45:04 GMT
No just the electric, £800 a year!!! Plus £200 for standing charge, that's a grand a year standing still!!
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Post by PG on Dec 8, 2022 18:13:03 GMT
No just the electric, £800 a year!!! Plus £200 for standing charge, that's a grand a year standing still!! And if you add all your other "before I get out of bed in a morning" costs on, it's life-sapping! Mortgage, council tax, insurances, base loads and standing charges for utilities, subscriptions, leases, yada. yada, yada. All one can say is OMFG. |
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Post by bryan on Dec 8, 2022 18:54:50 GMT
No just the electric, £800 a year!!! Plus £200 for standing charge, that's a grand a year standing still!! And if you add all your other "before I get out of bed in a morning" costs on, it's life-sapping! Mortgage, council tax, insurances, base loads and standing charges for utilities, subscriptions, leases, yada. yada, yada. All one can say is OMFG. Full of seasons festivities you are!! 🤣 I'm going to hit the eggnog hard!!😂😂 |
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Post by racingteatray on Dec 13, 2022 23:07:32 GMT
I went up to Suffolk for three days over the weekend. I wouldn’t normally bother for such a short period but I’m afraid this time even I thought “yep, think I’m going to put the thermostats on holiday mode for those three days”.
Have ordered (long overdue) new double-glazed windows (we don’t have double-glazing on the first and second floor of the house, so that’s 10 large holes that heat vanishes through). Can’t wait for them to arrive.
It was also instructive to spend the weekend in my mother’s modern house, built in 2014 and with a B energy rating. It was toasty warm with barely any heating on and despite the arctic east coast conditions.
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