Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
Hi all,
Vanilla are planning an update to the site on April 24th (next Wednesday). It is a major PHP8 update which is expected to boost performance across the site. The site will be down from 7pm and it is expected to take about an hour to complete. We appreciate your patience during the update.
Thanks all.

Another wind generation record today

Options
  • 16-06-2020 5:08pm
    #1
    Pa ElGrande
    Registered Users Posts: 3,495 ✭✭✭


    This is from the Eirgrids dashboard on July 16th 2020.


    random01.png


    random02.png


    The wind energy lobby have no problem putting out press releases when the wind is blowing, their silence is deafening when there is no wind.


    How much is having random energy actually costing electricity consumers?

    What would happen today if we had power cuts because there was not have natural gas to make up the difference?

    Net Zero means we are paying for the destruction of our economy and society in pursuit of an unachievable and pointless policy.



«1

Comments

  • Options
    #2
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 81,626 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    Pa ElGrande wrote: »
    What would happen today if we had power cuts because there was not have natural gas to make up the difference?

    Surely that is the purpose of investing in non-finite sources of energy.


  • Options
    #3
    Muahahaha
    Registered Users Posts: 19,610 ✭✭✭✭Muahahaha


    Pa ElGrande wrote: »
    This is from the Eirgrids dashboard on July 16th 2020.


    random01.png


    random02.png


    The wind energy lobby have no problem putting out press releases when the wind is blowing, their silence is deafening when there is no wind.


    How much is having random energy actually costing electricity consumers?

    What would happen today if we had power cuts because there was not have natural gas to make up the difference?

    The graphs outline the importance of gas for when the wind doesnt blow. Crazy that there is likely another huge gas field offshore and the Greens want to ban finding it, instead we would be reliant on foreign imports of gas. The switchover to renewables takes time and gas is needed in that intervening period. When we have built a couple of thousand giant offshore wind turbines and large solar farms thats the time to look at reducing gas, not now.


  • Options
    #4
    whisky_galore
    Registered Users Posts: 15,738 ✭✭✭✭whisky_galore


    Are these the wind turbines everyone wants, but wants near someone else's house?


  • Options
    #5
    biko
    Registered Users Posts: 81,223 ✭✭✭✭biko


    The future is nuclear.


  • Options
    #6
    Overheal
    Registered Users Posts: 81,626 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    biko wrote: »
    The future is nuclear.

    nukular, lisa. It's spelled nukular.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #7
    JohnnyFlash
    Registered Users Posts: 7,055 ✭✭✭JohnnyFlash


    There's a bit of a perfect storm (if you'll pardon the pun) starting to emerge around bringing too much sporadic renewable generation onto the grid.

    The operators of gas plant are finding it increasingly difficult to make a profit, and are only winning peaking and low priority auctions. If there's wind capacity available then that's what gets used. All good, except when the wind isn't blowing. So the latest idea is you'll create distributed generation plants made up of Wind, Solar, Battery, Gas. The smaller gas plants are very inefficient though. You will never have a small firing plant reach the same efficiency as you would with something like the ESB's Aghada plant.

    Offshore wind is far more reliable, and in general we do have an excellent wind profile compared to most of our European neighbours. We also have the interconnector. But you will always need Gas on the system, and you need gas plants that can come on the system quickly. You won't get investment in Gas from the big generators though if they can't make a buck. The ESB now operates in a deregulated generation market, so you can't have them running loss making plants for the sake of it either.

    It's complex stuff, and this rush to get gas off the system will need to be approached cautiously.


  • Options
    #8
    Markcheese
    Registered Users Posts: 8,428 ✭✭✭Markcheese


    It's all part of a mix , the gas stations are great .. they're relatively quick to power up (in comparison to coal ) , which allows you to run them less when the wind is blowing ,so they'll last much longer ....
    Like Grid level Batteries(chemical anyway) werent part of the mix a few years ago , but they make the grid more stable and resilient... As well as helping to replace the dirtiest peaking plants ...
    It's a system . A graph of 1 day / 1 month / 1 season in isolation for any part of the mix is about as useful as a chocolate teapot ....

    Slava ukraini 🇺🇦



  • Options
    #9
    JohnnyFlash
    Registered Users Posts: 7,055 ✭✭✭JohnnyFlash


    biko wrote: »
    The future is nuclear.


    It almost certainly isn't in Ireland, unless you count the development of the interconnector to France to be using nuclear. The figures don't stack up.


  • Options
    #10
    Markcheese
    Registered Users Posts: 8,428 ✭✭✭Markcheese


    Nuclear may well be the future ...
    But it's not the present

    Slava ukraini 🇺🇦



  • Options
    #11
    hmmm
    Registered Users Posts: 11,205 ✭✭✭✭hmmm


    You'd hope the pandemic and the low-likelihood/high-risk nature of it would make society a bit more wary of putting all their eggs in one basket, and building in plenty of redundancy into key systems.

    I'm all for renewables, and every euro we can keep in europe and not have to send to some despotic regime overseas is welcome, but we also need those in favour of renewables to have a sense of realism and allow the building of alternatives for when the renewables are unavailable. The banning of exploration for gas is, I agree, a stupid idea.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #12
    Markcheese
    Registered Users Posts: 8,428 ✭✭✭Markcheese


    Aghada is 5 different generation units ...
    Then new one (10 years old) is 4 hundred odd mw
    then a 1980s 270 mw (I think ) unit.
    And 3 smaller open cycle units (about 90mw each ),

    If you're up the hill nearby on a clear day when the open cycle units are running there is a thick brown haze spewing from the stacks ....
    I assume the bids include keeping stations available to produce power , if the grid needs my station available (with x amount of notice ) to produce power then thats Y million Euros per year , the actual electricity is extra at so much a unit ...

    Slava ukraini 🇺🇦



  • Options
    #13
    Muahahaha
    Registered Users Posts: 19,610 ✭✭✭✭Muahahaha


    whisky_galore wrote: »
    Are these the wind turbines everyone wants, but wants near someone else's house?

    We've huge capacity to put thousands of turbines out at sea, the UK is already working on the worlds largest offshore wind farm. https://hornseaprojectone.co.uk/

    Turbines offshore are a lot bigger that what you can get away with on shore. Ireland could eventually become an exporter of energy by building large scale off shore wind farms.
    biko wrote: »
    The future is nuclear.

    Certainly will be as soon as that interconnecter to France gets done. Its actually a best of both worlds scenario for Ireland as we will get cheap and reliable nuclear power without us needing to spend billions on a nuclear plant or having to figure out what to do with nuclear waste. The French have serious expertise in nuclear so we can get all the benefits of that without the expense when the interconnector cable gets laid. Cheap nuclear power should also help us attract more FDI in manufacturing and data centres.


  • Options
    #14
    Markcheese
    Registered Users Posts: 8,428 ✭✭✭Markcheese


    Aren't the French moving away from nuclear ? Not completely.. but it's just too dear to build new reactors

    https://www.power-technology.com/comment/renewable-energy-to-lead-the-capacity-mix-over-nuclear-power-in-france-by-2028/

    Slava ukraini 🇺🇦



  • Options
    #15
    Rodin
    Registered Users Posts: 3,130 ✭✭✭Rodin


    Batteries.

    We should have had the offshore wind market already sewn up


  • Options
    #16
    JohnnyFlash
    Registered Users Posts: 7,055 ✭✭✭JohnnyFlash


    Rodin wrote: »
    Batteries.

    We should have had the offshore wind market already sewn up


    What sort of batteries? I'm not being smart here, but I read a huge amount of guff from Elon Musk followers on Twitter about batteries, as if it was some sort of magical panacea for the short-to-medium term challenges we have in trying to balance the grid.



    Off-shore wind will be a game changer. I agree with that. We have capacity to put more wind on the system. We are so lucky to have Turlough Hill so close to Dublin. Such foresight by the ESB.



    What I don't see is how we can get rid of gas from the grid mix by 2030. It's just not achievable. And now we are saying we'd rather be beholden to Russian gas than exploring the possibilities of bringing it onshore from off the coast of Ireland.


  • Options
    #17
    Beasty
    Administrators, Social & Fun Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 75,285 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Beasty


    The future of nuclear is unclear

    Solar power will help brighten things up

    When it comes to wind energy - it's a breeze


  • Options
    #18
    Pa ElGrande
    Registered Users Posts: 3,495 ✭✭✭Pa ElGrande


    Rodin wrote: »
    Batteries.

    We should have had the offshore wind market already sewn up

    That's not a runner for anything other than short dips in power while spinning up other sources of electricity generation. No one yet has figured out how wind turbines and solar panels can run a fully functioning electrical grid without fossil fuel backup. That means we have to pay for the capital costs and maintenance of the standby equipment which needs to be able to supply when wind and solar don't work, is it any wonder this happened?


    Reality Is Gradually Catching Up To Green Energy
    June 08, 2020/ Francis Menton
    Somebody has to engineer an electrical system based on the intermittent sources that works 24/7/365. But in fact, even as major states and countries have piously proclaimed commitment to “net zero” energy, nobody has even started the engineering project. And as soon as you start to consider the question, you quickly realize that the whole endeavor is almost certainly impossible. As an example, Kelly addresses batteries:

    Take batteries. It is estimated that current battery manufacturing capabilities will need to be in the order of 500-700 times bigger than now to support an all-electric global transport system. The materials needed just to allow the UK to transition to all electric transport involve amounts of materials equal to 200% the annual global production of cobalt, 75% of lithium carbonate, 100% of neodymium and 50% of copper. Scaling by a factor of 50 for the world transport, and you see what is now a showstopper. The materials demands just for batteries are beyond known reserves. Would one be prepared to dredge the ocean floor at very large scale for some of the material? Should securing the reserves not be a first priority?

    source


    The problems are not unique to Ireland


    Germany’s Green Power Finance Is Becoming Unaffordable
    Power consumers make up the difference between payments made to investors and the wholesale power price. That causes the green surcharge to rise when wholesale prices fall, and they’ve dropped 20% since January as coronavirus lockdowns hit power demand.

    “The paradoxical mechanism that’s allowed green power to flourish can also push up surcharges,” said Fell, who now co-heads the Berlin-based Energy Watch Group that calls for a radical overhaul of green finance.

    source


    The UK also experienced no wind generation with the shortfall being made up by gas and nuclear.


    No Wind, No Sun–But Plenty Of Gas & Nuclear!

    Net Zero means we are paying for the destruction of our economy and society in pursuit of an unachievable and pointless policy.



  • Options
    #19
    Thelonious Monk
    Registered Users Posts: 13,739 ✭✭✭✭Thelonious Monk


    We'll never have nuclear in Ireland, seriously people, we can't even build a bus lane in Dublin without half the city going nuts, imagine telling people there was a nuclear power plant being built nearby. Also the costs and planning are way beyond our means.
    Are there any small countries with nuclear tech? Israel?
    Wind and other renewables are hopefully the future. Better insulation in homes would really help with gas usage too, some houses are so awful for this in Ireland, impossible to heat without having the gas cranked up all the time.


  • Options
    #20
    Harry Palmr
    Closed Accounts Posts: 40,061 ✭✭✭✭Harry Palmr


    This thread has two ads for biogas technology. :)

    There are plans afoot by a Dutch company for an offshore wind farm at Rosslare. I'd expect that to be the first of several along the south east coast. Where you have a good mix of wind plus shallow waters

    https://afloat.ie/marine-environment/power-from-the-sea


  • Options
    #21
    screamer
    Registered Users Posts: 6,131 ✭✭✭screamer


    Sure we have a massive source for biogas, all those farting cows the greens are giving out about.....
    so hypocritical though to ban gas exploration here whilst importing it from elsewhere, and nuclear too. We’ll never progress with the nimby tax and ban mentality our politicians have in relation to fuel security.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #22
    geotrig
    Registered Users Posts: 1,718 ✭✭✭geotrig


    Pa ElGrande wrote: »
    This is from the Eirgrids dashboard on July 16th 2020.


    random01.png


    random02.png


    The wind energy lobby have no problem putting out press releases when the wind is blowing, their silence is deafening when there is no wind.


    How much is having random energy actually costing electricity consumers?

    What would happen today if we had power cuts because there was not have natural gas to make up the difference?
    outside of the "coal" that is a very similar pie chart for the u.k s power generation that was shown last week when they where talking up not running coal power stations anymore , the one thing that i was surprised with was the gas being so high 60/70% or there abouts and nuclear only at 13/14%.


  • Options
    #23
    celtic_oz
    Registered Users Posts: 1,548 ✭✭✭celtic_oz


    such an old debate .. its over, renewables and inter-connectors won


  • Options
    #24
    Pa ElGrande
    Registered Users Posts: 3,495 ✭✭✭Pa ElGrande


    celtic_oz wrote: »
    such an old debate .. its over, renewables and inter-connectors won

    In reality we are are building a complex expensive random electricity generation network that must be fully backed up with fossil fuel generation for days like today (overcast, no wind). Those inter-connectors are underwritten with cap and floor contracts and the thinking is the supplier can buy surplus generation capacity on the open market to lower the costs of electricity consumption, however the problem with random generated electricity means it cannot supplied when it is needed and the wind turbine operators will have to accept below prices that don't cover a sufficient return on investment, and since the legislation has committed to these schemes the difference must be underwritten by the taxpayer and electricity consumer (public service obligation levy) otherwise these schemes will go bankrupt.

    Net Zero means we are paying for the destruction of our economy and society in pursuit of an unachievable and pointless policy.



  • Options
    #25
    Podge_irl
    Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 25,264 Mod ✭✭✭✭Podge_irl


    Thelonious Monk wrote: »
    Are there any small countries with nuclear tech? Israel?

    Finland has a number of nuclear reactors, though they are having a lot of difficulties getting their latest plant online and it is well over budget.


    Long term the future is almost definitely going to be nuclear for base energy levels.


  • Options
    #26
    Wanderer78
    Registered Users Posts: 28,805 ✭✭✭✭Wanderer78


    Podge_irl wrote:
    Long term the future is almost definitely going to be nuclear for base energy levels.


    Completely agree, I can't see renewables getting us over the line, I hear good things about thorium reactors


  • Options
    #27
    Harry Palmr
    Closed Accounts Posts: 40,061 ✭✭✭✭Harry Palmr


    Allied to this topic is storage as mentioned.
    Construction is beginning on the world’s largest liquid air battery, which will store renewable electricity and reduce carbon emissions from fossil-fuel power plants.

    The project near Manchester, UK, will use spare green energy to compress air into a liquid and store it. When demand is higher, the liquid air is released back into a gas, powering a turbine that puts the green energy back into the grid.

    A big expansion of wind and solar energy is vital to tackle the climate emergency but they are not always available. Storage is therefore key and the new project will be the largest in the world outside of pumped hydro schemes, which require a mountain reservoir to store water.

    The new liquid air battery, being developed by Highview Power, is due to be operational in 2022 and will be able to power up to 200,000 homes for five hours, and store power for many weeks.


    https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/18/worlds-biggest-liquid-air-battery-starts-construction-in-uk?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_gu&utm_medium&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1592458205

    We're still in the early days for this, with lots of small scale bits and pieces of technology in various states of development but over time integrated systems will be built to a large scale and one day we or our children will realise that carbon for mains power is history


  • Options
    #28
    bob mcbob
    Registered Users Posts: 971 ✭✭✭bob mcbob


    Pa ElGrande wrote: »
    That's not a runner for anything other than short dips in power while spinning up other sources of electricity generation. No one yet has figured out how wind turbines and solar panels can run a fully functioning electrical grid without fossil fuel backup. That means we have to pay for the capital costs and maintenance of the standby equipment which needs to be able to supply when wind and solar don't work, is it any wonder this happened?


    Reality Is Gradually Catching Up To Green Energy
    June 08, 2020/ Francis Menton




    The problems are not unique to Ireland


    Germany’s Green Power Finance Is Becoming Unaffordable




    The UK also experienced no wind generation with the shortfall being made up by gas and nuclear.


    No Wind, No Sun–But Plenty Of Gas & Nuclear!

    I had a look at this site - some really interesting articles such as this climate change being a fabrication and celebrating China opening a wave of coal fired power stations. I wonder who funds it?

    https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2015/11/21/noaas-fabricated-record-temperatures/


  • Options
    #29
    Pa ElGrande
    Registered Users Posts: 3,495 ✭✭✭Pa ElGrande


    screamer wrote: »
    Sure we have a massive source for biogas, all those farting cows the greens are giving out about.....


    Would somebody please think of us poor taxpayers. :(
    Maybe Pennys are selling trousers with deeper pockets.


    Farmers fuelling Ireland’s future
    Tim Lombard is a member of Seanad Éireann and was an unsuccessful Fine Gael Dáil candidate for Cork South West.
    Currently, there is no government-funded support scheme available for renewable gas in Ireland. In order for Irish farmers to reap the benefits that anaerobic digestion and biomethane production can provide, there needs to be a support scheme put in place. State support is required to cover the price gap between wholesale natural gas and the cost of producing biomethane.

    source

    Net Zero means we are paying for the destruction of our economy and society in pursuit of an unachievable and pointless policy.



  • Options
    #30
    Muahahaha
    Registered Users Posts: 19,610 ✭✭✭✭Muahahaha


    JohnnyFlash wrote: »
    What I don't see is how we can get rid of gas from the grid mix by 2030. It's just not achievable. And now we are saying we'd rather be beholden to Russian gas than exploring the possibilities of bringing it onshore from off the coast of Ireland.

    Its actually insane not exploring for gas. Its not like Ireland is blessed with loads of natural resources like the UK is so what little we have should be exploited over the next 10 years while we move to renewables. Green party policy says otherwise and if the PfG goes ahead we'll end up buying gas from Russia or Norway anyway, all this is is pure window dressing by the Greens, it wont change a thing.
    Thelonious Monk wrote: »
    We'll never have nuclear in Ireland, seriously people, we can't even build a bus lane in Dublin without half the city going nuts, imagine telling people there was a nuclear power plant being built nearby. Also the costs and planning are way beyond our means.

    We will never have our own nuclear power plant, it is not politically palatable and the costs are eyewatering anyway. But that doesnt matter because with the interconnector to the UK we are already using power generated from nuclear anyway and that will increase further with the interconnector to France which is progressing through the EU at the moment. Last I heard is we'll be getting a whopping big grant from Brussels to help pay for it.


  • Advertisement
  • Options
    #31
    celtic_oz
    Registered Users Posts: 1,548 ✭✭✭celtic_oz


    Pa ElGrande wrote: »
    In reality we are are building a complex expensive random electricity generation network that must be fully backed up with fossil fuel generation for days like today (overcast, no wind). Those inter-connectors are underwritten with cap and floor contracts and the thinking is the supplier can buy surplus generation capacity on the open market to lower the costs of electricity consumption, however the problem with random generated electricity means it cannot supplied when it is needed and the wind turbine operators will have to accept below prices that don't cover a sufficient return on investment, and since the legislation has committed to these schemes the difference must be underwritten by the taxpayer and electricity consumer (public service obligation levy) otherwise these schemes will go bankrupt.

    yes at the moment. The future is renewables, storage and interconnectors. Thats the end game.

    Dont understand why people have to cry until its cheaper immediately.

    Its a bit like the electric car
    outrage "they dont have the range"
    outrage "they're more expensive"
    outrage "theirs nowhere to charge them"

    10 years later

    are you buying tesla stock

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gacGuWjqKco



    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssfbq7PVktA


Advertisement