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Energy Prices


MuckleMoo

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15 hours ago, sophia said:

Wholesale electricity prices were back to normal this week with some periods penalising producers with negative settlements.

Whereas there were prices recently of £1,000 per MWh, this week it was £0 or less when demand was balanced by supply.

Putin isn't winning this.

 

 

He's a bad, bad boy.

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4 minutes ago, Dawson Park Boy said:

Okay, windy day.

What about when the wind isn’t blowing?

We should be building the capacity for nuclear to provide more.

Gas, coal and oil capability should be retained for additional capacity if ever needed, but there is really no reason why the UK cannot source 100% of its electricity from a combination of solar, wind, nuclear and hydro.

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On 08/10/2022 at 01:10, strichener said:

I'm not sure how it works in the US.  In the UK there is no need to do this.  If you pay by DD and you disagree with any change to the amount you can phone the supplier and discuss the change.  If they refuse to reduce it and proceed to take the payment you can tell your bank that you aren't paying it under the DD guarantee and they are required to restore the funds and contact the company.  I have done this many times in the past.  You just have to know your rights https://www.directdebit.co.uk/direct-debit-explained/direct-debit-guarantee/

If you keep a low balance and your DD fails, you will be charged by the bank and possibly the DD recipient also.

Do cash app transfers have the same protections? Zelle, Venmo, etc?

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Knowing how things were likely to be this winter I didn't do my normal DD reduction from March to October that I have done in previous years, from £130 p/m to around £70 for my combined gas and electricity. As a result and with trying to be more energy efficient as well as having a very energy efficient new build I'm in the odd situation where I've built up an awful lot of credit (plus the govt subsidy) and could easily reduce my payments and get through the winter paying less than last year. 

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24 minutes ago, oaksoft said:

 

We should be investing in energy storage for days when the wind isn't blowing.

We should have been doing that for decades already.

The fact that we aren't is the root cause of our problems.

The question is whether we have anyone in charge with the ability and desire to solve this issue or not.

How big are you planning on these batteries being? Where are we building them? How do you plan on generating enough electricity over and above demand to charge them? And how often will they need replacing?

Storing energy generated from wind and solar sounds great, but there is a negative environmental impact from doing so that, at the scale required, negates many of the environmental benefits from using wind etc to generate the electricity in the first place.

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5 minutes ago, cb_diamond said:

Knowing how things were likely to be this winter I didn't do my normal DD reduction from March to October that I have done in previous years, from £130 p/m to around £70 for my combined gas and electricity. As a result and with trying to be more energy efficient as well as having a very energy efficient new build I'm in the odd situation where I've built up an awful lot of credit (plus the govt subsidy) and could easily reduce my payments and get through the winter paying less than last year. 

Unless im missing something why not, under normal circumstances, just set your DD to around £100pm and leave it there?

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59 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

How big are you planning on these batteries being? Where are we building them? How do you plan on generating enough electricity over and above demand to charge them? And how often will they need replacing?

Storing energy generated from wind and solar sounds great, but there is a negative environmental impact from doing so that, at the scale required, negates many of the environmental benefits from using wind etc to generate the electricity in the first place.

Why batteries, there are other ways of storing energy.

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Just now, Todd_is_God said:

Other than batteries, what methods of storing energy to feed the National Grid are there?

The question isn't what methods there are since Oaksoft is stating that the investment was needed long ago.  Alternative methods include Hydrogen, pumped storage or compressed air.

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Just now, strichener said:

The question isn't what methods there are since Oaksoft is stating that the investment was needed long ago.  Alternative methods include Hydrogen, pumped storage or compressed air.

The question very much is what methods there are, as I was asking you in response to your post.

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8 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

Other than batteries, what methods of storing energy to feed the National Grid are there?

I looked into this recently.  The following was what I found.  I’ve absolutely no idea how costly or efficient any of these would be.  Also no idea if they could truly be scaled up to cover the whole of the UK. 

ETA Could nuclear power not be used for when the sun isn’t shining and / or the wind isn’t blowing?  Would that not be cheaper and perhaps even better for the environment than some ideas listed below  (assuming something doesn’t go wrong)?  
 

  • Pumped hydroelectric. Electricity is used to pump water up to a reservoir. When water is released from the reservoir, it flows down through a turbine to generate electricity.
  • Compressed air. Electricity is used to compress air at up to 1,000 pounds per square inch and store it, often in underground caverns. When electricity demand is high, the pressurized air is released to generate electricity through an expansion turbine generator.
  • Flywheels. Electricity is used to accelerate a flywheel (a type of rotor) through which the energy is conserved as kinetic rotational energy. When the energy is needed, the spinning force of the flywheel is used to turn a generator. Some flywheels use magnetic bearings, operate in a vacuum to reduce drag, and can attain rotational speeds up to 60,000 revolutions per minute.
  • Batteries. Similar to common rechargeable batteries, very large batteries can store electricity until it is needed. These systems can use  lithium ion, lead acid, lithium iron or other battery technologies.
  • Thermal energy storage. Electricity can be used to produce thermal energy, which can be stored until it is needed. For example, electricity can be used to produce chilled water or ice during times of low demand and later used for cooling during periods of peak electricity consumption. 
Edited by Shadow Play
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35 minutes ago, Todd_is_God said:

The question very much is what methods there are, as I was asking you in response to your post.

Well to be pedantic, batteries aren't currently viable either.  However all the examples I have listed would be able to store energy.

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30 minutes ago, strichener said:

Well to be pedantic, batteries aren't currently viable either.  However all the examples I have listed would be able to store energy.

I agree, which I hope came across in the wording of my initial reply to Oaksoft.

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