A global recession is on the horizon - please read OP for mod warning

Out of curiosity, why didn’t you do it with these numbers?

Personally, I m skeptical that solar energy is the future for few reasons:

• Reliance on China: they control rare minerals and produce over 89% of solar panels. We would move away from relying from several countries on oil to only one country for solar panels. I don’t like putting all my eggs in the sale basket.
• The economics of it may make sense to do it now because of the state incentive but the government could dramatically decrease it if too many people use it and There was a precedent as it is what Spain has done few years ago making solar suddenly a lot less attractive.
• The main problem with solar is how are we going to produce enough energy in winter when we need the energy the most.

I am not against solar energy but like everything in life, it has to be in moderation. We see it currently, we rely too much on oil so we need to develop several sources of renewal energy that can be generated using tools built by many countries. Only then, we would be independent on energy.

The sun doesn't shine on us via china.

I like solar, in my circumstances where I have cheap solid fuel my own turf and forestry for timber, I plan on doing pv and linking the solar to immersions in the buffer tank and hot water cyclinder along with a coils for the solid fuel stove and oil boiler. I presently have oil boiler but down the line if the higher temperature heat pumps advance more i would seriously consider changing. I would be able to link them all up and my stove and the solar would be doing 90% of the work, I would only need the heat pump like my oil boiler as back up or boost whenever I need it.

Loads of options out there now and loads of good ways to link systems. I think a mix of a few options like that is the best bet. Pigeon holing yourself into just one option not matter how great it may sound and be now I don’t think is a good idea - as Europe learned their lesson from pigeon holing themselves into Russian gas, we all know how well that has turned out for the German economy

Point being you are not dependent on China for the sun......once you have the panels you have presumably decades of life from the panels etc

It's not like oil where once you burn it you need more of it on a regular basis....with oil if you don't make it yourself then you are dependent....with solar you are buying the converter...the solar energy itself is not something China has to deliver etc

im not convinced we can eventually run all our energy needs via renewables at all, of course they will play a critical role, but i believe we re gonna have to run nuclear along side it, or its gonna be fossil fuels along side renewables

unfortunately yes, we re stuck with fossil fuels, possibly forever, as we may never accept alternatives such as nuclear

A Nuclear plant would be an implementation/construction nightmare given our NCH experience. Lots of smaller scale energy projects would be more manageable.

While it is a fact that currently there needs to be a controllable power source to maintain grid integrity, the technology in energy storage is improving all the time to the point where a fossil fuel power may become like a hospital back up emergency generator; there when you need it but not always needed.

Anyway back to present events.

I had always assumed most big airlines bought forward contracts for around six months supply to ride out such fuel spikes as we're seeing now. However all the major US airlines gave up fuel hedging, possibly because since 2019 the USA became the world leading refined fuels exporter so they reckoned big gov will bail them out if needed.

Refined gasoline at the pump is now 50% up from January and still rising, so Trump will need an off ramp with Iran or major US companies will go bust.

Theee was thst hydro project talked about up west using wind to keep pumping up to a resevoir and hydro - spirit of Ireland. I think sea water to flood a land area was a concern but as a concept worth revisiting?

People’s pension pots are been hit badly since Israel/USA has attacked Iran - some indices down over 10% with worse to come possibly .

Strong selling to who then?. Its one big massive export market. Nothing else. Replicas

How can China be grand?

Where can they expand to cover the shortfall from Europe and US if they are in trouble?

in the 1920s, a broken penniless state managed to build a hydroelectric station in Ardnacrusha - overseen by a 25 year old project mgr and built by Siemens .

Surely 100 years later - we can go again

China is 84.6% self sufficient in energy.

84.6% self-sufficient is spin. If you still have to import energy, you are not self sufficient. China is extremely vulnerable to imports and everyone knows it. They live of ripping of the world, including buying discounted oil from terrorists like Venezuela and Iran.