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Cathryn

Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion

Posted: Sun Mar 01, 15 7:45 pm Post subject:
A large part of the world goes to bed hungry which suggests that agriculture isn't overproducing just being distributed badly.

Ty Gwyn

Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 4563
Location: Lampeter

Posted: Sun Mar 01, 15 7:47 pm Post subject:
And a large part of that World is growing bio fuel while its people starve.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 15 4:54 pm Post subject:
Ecologist article on the new Drax biomass burner. Apparently it will only be burning 15% wood pellets, the rest coal.

Ty Gwyn

Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 4563
Location: Lampeter

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 15 9:24 pm Post subject:
Interesting article Tav, Show`s up the energy policy for what it is,a bloody shambles. All that money to build,yet if they burn 50% wood,there is no reason to carbon capture the rest. That`s nothing more than carbon trading.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 15 9:49 pm Post subject:
It's window dressing & does very little for the planet. The way forward is micro & community generating systems. Allow locals to have shares in wind turbines & solar farms & watch the objections dissolve. There are many small streams & rivers that with micro hydro could power the majority of homes nearby, as long as people where responsible with their uses. We don't need new Drax.

Ty Gwyn

Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 4563
Location: Lampeter

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 15 10:00 pm Post subject:
Trouble is,we still need a base load, But just for you,as i do agree on this form of generation locally, And if it could be done then,then why not now, https://www.youtube.com/user/RCAHMWales

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 15 11:19 pm Post subject:

Tavascarow wrote:

The way forward is micro & community generating systems.
...
We don't need new Drax.

This and this.

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Tue Mar 17, 15 11:34 pm Post subject:
And storage.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15600

Posted: Wed Mar 18, 15 8:07 am Post subject:

Think that is a rather anti-biased view, but probably correct in essentials. The snipe about Concord suggested to me that it might be rather anti, as a lot was learned in that project.

We need to find better ways of using available biomass such as brash, straw and green waste. Burning some and converting some to methane and other things such as alcohol and precuresers for plastics is the ideal way to go.

If the figures are correct, and the same is being spent on the fiesibiliy study as on government renewable energy development, that is pretty poor value for money and it would be better spend on renewables. We do need to know more about carbon capture, but not spend this much just to see if it will work in one case using a method that is known to be rather dubious.

Agree we need to have some sort of base for electricity generation Ty Gwyn. Using the National Grid, micro generation might lead to chaos, but if the power could generally be used locally it would save a lot of waste in sending it round the system.

OtleyLad

Joined: 13 Jan 2007
Posts: 2737
Location: Otley, West Yorkshire

Posted: Wed Mar 18, 15 8:23 am Post subject:
I'm not convinced by the 'base load' argument. It makes sense in a National Grid with a relatively few large-scale power-plants but does the same hold true for a highly de-centralised generation format? Sure you want fail-safe capacity, but if you have a local mix of solar, wind, hydro, tidal, storage, etc. that will vary across the country then the 'base load' argument is undermined.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Mar 18, 15 8:33 am Post subject:

OtleyLad wrote:

I'm not convinced by the 'base load' argument.

Probably because you don't understand it. With your list, tidal is not local to many places, on a still night you don't have wind or solar and we currently have little way of storing energy in England. So, you need the base load to be provided by nuclear and fossil fuels and we will need it for year to come.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Wed Mar 18, 15 8:56 am Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

OtleyLad wrote:

I'm not convinced by the 'base load' argument.

I agree if you assume current demand & technology but technology is advancing at a rate of knots, & with the right encouragement will advance quicker.
Tesla is about to announce their new battery system that they say will make grid tied homes a thing of the past.
I've no doubt that technology will be very expensive to start with, & way beyond the means of your average downsizer. So was solar PV twenty years ago. But once the system is there inventors & designers will start to work on systems & appliances that fit.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Mar 18, 15 9:21 am Post subject:

Tavascarow wrote:

Treacodactyl wrote:

OtleyLad wrote:

I'm not convinced by the 'base load' argument.

Indeed, and I've been waiting for many years for the promise of good energy storage. We've also been promised better fission and workable fusion as well. Which will come first and what would be better?

If you're saying in 20+ years there will be cheap and plentiful energy storage then great*, until then we'll need something to cover the base load.

*If anyone knows of a fairly cheap off-grid battery solar set-up that's coming to market in the next couple of years please post up details in another thread as I'm looking for something.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Mar 18, 15 9:45 am Post subject:
And thinking about this some more, I've been looking at plug in hybrid cars. Not a sports car or anything large, just a super mini sized thing. To make the investment worth while it would have to cover at least 100 miles on the battery and there still isn't anything about that fits the bill. The Prius has been around for 18 years and what progress has been made?

Hairyloon

Joined: 20 Nov 2008
Posts: 15425
Location: Today I are mostly being in Yorkshire.

Posted: Wed Mar 18, 15 12:48 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

The Prius has been around for 18 years and what progress has been made?

Shed loads more charging stations.

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