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

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussion' started by Fat Controller, Mar 3, 2021.

  1. pete

    pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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    20150423_132146.jpg

    You dont have to destroy the countryside to achieve it, just use every opportunity.
     
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    • gks

      gks Total Gardener

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      Looks like Bord Na Mona are in the planning process to build a solar panel farm on a peat bog, apparently this will be the first large scale solar farm built on peat in the world.

      I can see the peatlands being a major source for future renewable energy projects in the future. :-(

      Solar Farm on Timahoe North Bog » Cllr. Brendan Wyse
       
    • Fat Controller

      Fat Controller 'Cuddly' Scottish Admin! Staff Member

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      Indeed they can, but that has to be handled very carefully indeed, for two reasons - one of the main ones now (allegedly) is something to do with the waveform of the power being too 'choppy' and therefore lots more smoothing is having to be added to the grid; the other is that it has to have the requisite equipment to ensure that if the grid power shuts down, the solar energy also ceases and does not continue to be pumped into the grid.
       
    • CanadianLori

      CanadianLori Total Gardener

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      I agree with @pete . If every home had solar panels, for their own use, and the grid to top up, the relief on the current power generators would allow them to extend the lengthen of time the current grids can serve an expanding population. I would never rely on it for any major appliance that uses heating elements. I would use them for lighting, running electronics, small appliances etc. Ovens, clothes dryers, just suck too much power for an affordable solar array but backed up by the grid, it's all workable.

      And yes, cloudy days you do get less power but you still get some!

      I use solar panels to power my greenhouses. I have panels that are hooked direct to the fans and on timers to thoroughly stir the air in them and of course, they would run at full strength on a sunny day which is also when they are needed. I use more solar panels to charge batteries which run the fans and lights at night. I use solar powered pumps to use rainwater to feed plants.

      If I duplicated the set up on a larger scale, I could power all of my home's electronics, lights etc without ever tapping into grid power.

      So, yes, I agree that if every home had some form of renewable energy, which they fully owned and have first dibs on the power produced, before supplying the grid, current electrical networks would not need to be appreciably expanded. :blue thumb:
       
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      • shiney

        shiney President, Grumpy Old Men's Club Staff Member

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        That's correct :blue thumb:

        I don't understand on what grounds he turned you down unless he was getting something out of it. :scratch:


        Under the government scheme that I had my panels installed we were only allowed to have 16 panels as a domestic installation. More than that would disqualify me for the money per kWh that they give me. Even with those, the other day when it was rainy and overcast all day, they produced 2.3 kWh. On Saturday they produced 17.2 kWh - a winter record for me. We use our washing machine, tumble dryer and dishwasher in the middle of the day on sunny days. :)
         
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        • Sheal

          Sheal Total Gardener

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          The hydro-electric scheme in Scotland is expanding quite fast and there are many smaller schemes as well as large throughout the Highlands. Mountains, dammed lochs and the sea are being utilised using various ways of producing electricity.

          Two quotes from different sources below....

          "Scotland now provides 85% of Great Britain’s hydro-electric resource, with a total generation capacity of 1,500 MW. Improved power supplies have attracted more industry to the Highlands, without seriously altering its character."

          In the four or so years I've lived here I have been following the development, initial tests and subsequent use of the tidal turbine below. The quote speaks for itself.

          "One such example is the revolutionary new SR2000 tidal turbine. Where most tidal turbines are fixed to the seabed, this one has rotors hanging from a device floating on the surface. In the 12 months since its introduction, the turbine amazingly generated more power than Scotland’s entire wave and tidal energy sector in the last 12 years.

          [​IMG]

          Scotland may be producing 85% of Britain's hydro-electric power, but the gripe is that it's
          'shipped' (for want of a better word) to England and we then have to buy it back, however it's produced, paying a top notch price. Our electricity bills here are probably the most expensive in Britain. :mad:
           
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          • noisette47

            noisette47 Total Gardener

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            Not being confrontational, @Sheal, but did the English taxpayer pay for it to be constructed? That would probably explain why they've got first dibs on the power produced? Now the UK has regained all it's sovereign coastline, perhaps the Scots should build one of their own just off Liverpool or Hull? :biggrin:
             
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            • Jiffy

              Jiffy The Match is on Fire

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              I think (but not sure) that the Queen may hold the rights to things in the sea, there was something on the news that the queen and gov got a big amount of money for a new wind farm at sea
               
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              • pete

                pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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                Yeah there's not much hydro electricity being generated in the likes of Essex or Lincolnshire, I wonder if there are missing out on something. :biggrin:
                 
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                • pete

                  pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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                  I assume the Scottish hydo electricity is put into the national grid?
                  It's always been something I've never understood, similar with green energy, how do you know where it has come from, some of what we use comes from France.
                   
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                  • noisette47

                    noisette47 Total Gardener

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                    I noticed that EDF has a presence in UK. Check your bills very carefully! :biggrin:
                     
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                    • pete

                      pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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                      EDF has a large presence in the UK.
                      I think we had to ask them to build us a power station because we dont know how to do things like that anymore.
                       
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                      • NigelJ

                        NigelJ Total Gardener

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                        EDF are involved in both Hinkley C and Sizewell C nuclear power plants, both also have a large input from Chinese companies.
                        Find that curious as we've just put Huawei into touch for telecoms infrastructure, but nuclear ok?
                         
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                        • gks

                          gks Total Gardener

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                          EDF are looking to build 2 reactors just down the road from me, similar to Sizewell C.
                          I knew Toshiba would end up pulling out of Moorside, you only had to see what was happening in South Carolina that the Toshiba Moorside project was unlikely to go ahead.
                           
                        • Sheal

                          Sheal Total Gardener

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                          No @noisette47, not everything that happens in Scotland is backed by English taxpayers. The construction was funded by the Scottish Government and renewable energy companies in Scotland and Scandinavia. The design and development was by a company in the Orkney Islands. It was constructed in Northern Ireland then returned to the Orkney's for testing.

                          The energy produced has to go to England because we don't have a national electricity grid here. Something I think Scotland should think about for the future.
                           
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