When the companies were state owned maintenance and replacement were carried out quite seriously. Foreign private companies don't care much to invest in preventive replacement of old gas piping circuits as costs are high but the state thought in 20 year or more planning schemes (which I truly prefer in case of energy , telecommunication and tapwater). We don't experience gas leaks often as regulation is strict but the clock is ticking. This while gas piping is underground just like power cabling (in a country that is below sea level mostly) !
If we would think long term we would only use our own natural gas and drive our cars on natural gas. There are only a few natural gas stations though.
If we would think long term we would only use our own natural gas and drive our cars on natural gas. There are only a few natural gas stations though.
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That probably explains the strange noises my new fridge makes. you get used to the buzzes and gurgles over the years!
Gurgles, sounds of gas, sounds of fluid matter and the variable rpm. Still just 40 dBA in my case. Not annoying but strange when you are not used to it. Also new to me is that there is no condensor at the back side anymore !
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Here no utilities were ever state owned, our closest equivalent would be the muncipal light and gas plants in some towns which are generally cooperatives theoretically owned by their rate payers.
State owned was absolutely best here. Outages were very very rare. Gain was not a goal, break even operation and job opportunities were normal. Natural gas for cooking/heating, electricity and water were seen as basic needs of every citizen. Even when one did not pay the bills it was forbidden to cut off any of those resources as it was a right. The power companies produced and distributed power while nowadays those are separated. The local municipalities got very rich when they sold off their power companies. Even today outages are only once in a many years. High quality uninterrupted services for the people were a goal then and we still benefit from that way of thinking ! All infrastructure was/is made for very long term operation. 40 years is no exception.
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Are trash plants really "green" as stated? I believe that combustion of this materials is as contaminant as many others, or worse.
In California with PGE the rates are all over the map.
$.08 - $.50 depending on where you live and the time of the year and day.
Interestingly power is more expensive in the poorer sections like parts of the valley. A house in Malibu or along has the least expensive power per KWH.
$.08 - $.50 depending on where you live and the time of the year and day.
Interestingly power is more expensive in the poorer sections like parts of the valley. A house in Malibu or along has the least expensive power per KWH.
Happen to know a bit of that. Here they are filtered extensively. Exhaust gasses are monitored continuously. Metals are reused as much as possible and most of it was already filtered out before. Produced power goes to the grid but the facility I visited was not keen on showing me that part which surprised me as it seems their main goal 😉 When fired up they try to keep a steady flow of trash coming to keep the ovens burning but they can switch to natural gas if necessary. Needless to say that they try to avoid that.
Truth is that those companies pay for trash ! One here has 425 lorries a day coming with waste from the UK and Italy. Everything is separated by machine and human control. Trash is also regulated here so people should separate their trash in different trash cans. Plastic, "green" waste and others. The results in certain "trash streams" and separate ways of handling different trash.
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Perhaps transporting power to places where power drain is high is cheaper than to carry it to lower demand sites?
Infrastructure building costs, operation and maintenance costs.....no industry that guarantees a continuous demand of power so turbines switching off at night and started up again in the morning etc.
Power generation is done cheapest and most efficient when demand is not varying too much.
Power generation is done cheapest and most efficient when demand is not varying too much.
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Even thou much of western Canada is (at least heated) by natural gas, we won’t ever have it at my house. Too hard for them to dig thru the rock to run the pipes.
dave
Yes. Florida has a few. Our county has a co-op, our rates are low. At the other end of the state my father gets his power from a co-op. Prices as low or lower than mine.
All you that wanna to send energy to the company, how do you synchronize your generation in frequency and phase with the grid? Have you a sinusoidal converter or quasi sinusoidal (square)? Is the energy sent at the same price that the drained?
Argentine electricity price is cheaper than anywhere else; for the last 10 years it had been practically free so NOW it looks expensive to locals.
Similar to venezuela, everybody is angry because "gasoline price raised 2000% !!!! " , forgetting than with Chavez it cost cents per gallon so it was again essentially free (in my book, if you pay only cents on a dollar it qualifies as such).
Similar to venezuela, everybody is angry because "gasoline price raised 2000% !!!! " , forgetting than with Chavez it cost cents per gallon so it was again essentially free (in my book, if you pay only cents on a dollar it qualifies as such).
Here in northern Germany we have a rate of approx $0.31 per kWh, with an additional base fee of approx. $88 per year.
Regards,
Rundmaus
Regards,
Rundmaus
That is the green dividend from all the solar in Germany! those who could afford/had space get almost zero bills, everyone pays 3 fold.
In UK there are a few schemes burning the methane from landfill sites to drive generators, since the methane would otherwise just vent to atmosphere. The interesting part is the trade off between filtering the methane for sulfur or not. Sulfur reduces the time to rebuild of the generators (basically big engines) but the cost of scrubbing the gas is the same as the rebuild cost!
In UK there are a few schemes burning the methane from landfill sites to drive generators, since the methane would otherwise just vent to atmosphere. The interesting part is the trade off between filtering the methane for sulfur or not. Sulfur reduces the time to rebuild of the generators (basically big engines) but the cost of scrubbing the gas is the same as the rebuild cost!
Maybe someone from Denmark can join in - as far as I know they have the highest price for mains power in the EU...
In the solar system we had in Hawaii, it was all done by the micro-converters. Each panel has one, which is why they are called "mico" I suppose. They sense the phase of the mains and sync to it. If there is no mains power, they don't work. I don't think they will allow you to charge up a battery system or run alone.
I would think that any convertor made to be connected to the grid will sense the AC phase and sync to it.
@billshurv: Its not only about solar, but all renewable sources of energy. All of them are highly subsidized.
This (along with the low interest rates) leads to a situation where it is quite easy to make money by setting up wind turbines even in places without sufficient wind conditions. Pays more than putting your money into a bank account with a 0.0x% interest rate...
This (along with the low interest rates) leads to a situation where it is quite easy to make money by setting up wind turbines even in places without sufficient wind conditions. Pays more than putting your money into a bank account with a 0.0x% interest rate...
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