Random Renewables Thread

Cyrus · 25-08-2025 03:50PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123752937#Comment_123752937

Your post would mean more if a significant amount of our energy production wasnt already renewables and its only going to increase.

con747 · 25-08-2025 04:24PM

Thread is stuck so needs a few posts to move it to the next page.

con747 · 25-08-2025 04:25PM

Bump

Busman Paddy Lasty · 25-08-2025 04:37PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123751590#Comment_123751590

I believe there has been one major instance of a datacentre running on gas 24/7 and some articles where new datacentres will have to do the same.

pjproby · 25-08-2025 10:34PM

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/climate/rooftop-solar-cooperative-ohio.html

An article in the New York Times about a group of people who worked together to vet installers, demystify contracts and, ultimately, install solar panels. Some people learned about the group from their local library. "Here’s how it works: Co-ops run for four to eight months and generally include 30 to 100 members. Around the third month, Solar United Neighbors solicits proposals from local installers, who compete for the business of the whole group. After the nonprofit does an initial round of due diligence on the bids, each cooperative appoints its own selection committee, which combs through the fine print and selects the best fit.'

bullit_dodger · 26-08-2025 12:37AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123753127#Comment_123753127

I can't speak for that occasion as I don't know the details, but what I can tell you as someone who actually works for a large multinational who owns datacenters and have seen them physically insitu, typically the diesel/gas turbines are installed for regulatory reasons so they can fire them up when there is a grid outage. They are not used for normal day-to-day operation. They don't like running them, not for financial reasons, but it causes more work.

I'm now waiting for the inevitable "Ohh but you work for them ergo your biased!" No, I don't like them at all, but they are a necessary engineering solution to a engineering backup problem. Batteries can perhaps power a DC for 1-2 hrs. If the grid stays up, they'll never be fired up other than on the proper maintenance cycle to confirm operation. The alternative is that if the grid goes down then all manner of fall out happens from your bank machine not giving you money, train timetables not longer on your phone app….. to your nexflix movie going off. DC's are a modern fact of life. They need to be online 24x7 and anyone who thinks the country could run without them….is probably naïve.

That said, I'd still get them to pay a premium for (more) than their share of infrastructure upgrades that are necessary due to their existence. that's fair to me. Everyone wins.

Capt'n Midnight · 26-08-2025 01:02AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123752937#Comment_123752937

The upper limit to how much energy to fuel will cost in the future. Or a real breakthrough in carbon storage that isn't greenwashing.

Germans were making synthetic fuel during WWII so it's not new tech. Costs are mainly down to the price of hydrogen, which will be down to the cost of surplus renewables.

Ammonia is another option for ships and possibly trains.

Busman Paddy Lasty · 26-08-2025 06:27AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123754962#Comment_123754962Thanks for the detailed description. I'll leave the talk of generators out, my comments seem to be blending with an existing conversation about backup gennies.

I've managed sites similar to datacentres with backup generators so I'm quite familiar with them. I just wasn't talking about backup generators but that didn't come across.

https://www.datacentermap.com/ireland/drogheda/premier-periclase-data-centre/

the_amazing_raisin · 26-08-2025 09:08AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123752937#Comment_123752937

Those giant generators you're referring to are called Flexgen generators

It's basically a jet engine strapped to a generator and powered by natural gas

The idea is pretty simple, it gives you a quick startup generator if there's a need for peak power. Because there's multiple turbines you can spin them up and down as needed, unlike many larger thermal plants which are a bit all or nothing

They're there to cover shortfalls in renewable energy, they aren't designed to be run constantly and won't be

The reason we can't have more renewables in the grid at the moment is because the grid was designed around large generating plants and needs a lot of rework to handle renewables

The 80% figure is total energy consumption of the country, that includes transportation, heating and industry. Electricity generation is something like 30% of the total so even if that was fully renewable it doesn't count for the majority

deezell · 26-08-2025 09:22AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123755242#Comment_123755242

The ex peat fired station up the road from me is still running with an aircraft engine instead. My oil delivery man was describing it to me, he makes regular deliveries of fuel to it. It's gas, pardon the pun, you'd end up in court around here for selling a bag of turf.

graememk · 26-08-2025 10:08AM

Moving to random renewables thread.

Random Renewables Thread

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