Renewable energy sources - the good, the bad and the ugly

The Swedish government has reject plans for 13 windfarms to be built in the Baltic sea due to defence concerns raised by there armed forces. Apparently they are concerned as the windfarms would make it harder for them to detect and shoot down missiles should the conflict with Russia and the Ukraine escalates.

Sweden rejects Baltic Sea wind farms, citing defence concerns | Reuters

 

Not much wind or solar generation at the moment!

 

Us and other Northern European countries are witnessing a Dunkelflaute, wind has only produced about 3-4% of the UK's energy with gas accounting for 60%. In Germany they might have to fire up some of the coal power stations to meet peak demands.

‘Dunkelflaute’ sends wind power generation plummeting in UK and Germany

UK Power Hits 11-Month High as Reliance on Europe Reaches Record - Bloomberg

 

Things could get worse if the temperature drops.

 

Did anyone watch the programme, "Heat pumps are they really worth it" that has just been on ITV?

It was interesting to know that 40% of clients who have enquired about having a heat pump installed needed planning permission.
One woman who wanted to have an air heat pump fitted to her apartment had to spend nearly £6000 on red tape, it actually cost her £1400 for a noise survey.

Builders of new homes that have wanted to fit air source heat pumps to new builds had actually been told by the energy supplier that the infrastructure of the grid was insufficient and gas boilers were fitted instead.

At the end of the programme they went back to a home that had an air source heat pump fitted to their home to see what the savings were, it was a whopping 50p a day. But they said they went down the route of fitting a heat pump to save the planet, not saving money. Also the room that these cylinders and pipes take up, surprised me.

After watching the programme, I am not surprised that the current government has backed down on the banning of gas boilers by 2035 as even Ed Miliband has supposedly admitted, heat pumps will never be cheaper than a gas boiler.

 

I was never convinced that air source heat pumps are really adapted to the UK climate. What no-one mentions is that they rely on electricity too and when temps drop over an extended period, you're virtually running electric heating. In case of power cuts, you really need a back-up source of heat /hot water.

 

One day we heard "some person" say that all new build must have solar on the roof.
SURPRISE....we have been saying that for years and cannot understand why it isn't being done already. Answer...it is too costly. RUBBISH.
I remember my father's first calculator. It was a brick and cost a lot of money. As things moved on they became smaller and more easy to purchase.
SO.....the same is with have all new builds whether they are homes/factories etc etc all should be MADE to have solar panels on their roof.

 

Yes I saw it, I'm not sure what room I would like to turn over to all those tanks and electrics i'd need to build an extension first

When they pointed out the difference in price of electricity compared to gas you can understand why they are not exactly going like hot cakes, I know electricity is more efficient but it would have to be about 4 times as efficient.

And the government keep saying we need wind farms so that we can stop buying EXPENSIVE imported gas.

The mind boggles as to were we are going, probably being lead up the garden path.

 

I had to laugh as the woman said at the end that they used to have to sit next to the radiators to keep warm but now the house is much warmer.

They are obviously running the rads at a higher temperature now.

 

But there is also another angle, what if there was no power cuts caused by damage to the lines or connectors but because wind energy was producing to much energy for the grid. I was told that turbines are not just switched off during high winds to prevent damage to the turbines, but also to prevent damage to the connectors due to the high voltage of power that is generated. So in the future, we might not be waiting for the lines to be repaired to have the power restored but actually waiting for the winds to ease before the wind turbines are switched back on. There will of probably been a thousand of two wind turbines switched off during the storm, so if there was nothing wrong with the grid, you would still be without power anyways if fossil fuels and incinerators were discontinued.