I'm sure that depending on locality some methods of power generation are better suited than others, that these locations (and installed costs) differ means that there is not a "one suit fits all" answer. Even to me, wave energy with its difficulties of harnessing immense power and potential damage is less attractive than tidal generation. I'm not a lover of large wind turbines in pristine natural areas, favoring the (ridiculously expensive at the moment) "wind turbine tree" idea more in semi built up areas. Solar panels seem ideal for city use, espacially if a larger range of sizes become available to fit in with built infrastructure. All that being said, I think haveing various options is great, we also need the will to act.
A balanced mix of nuclear, wind, solar, landfill / sewage gas is a much better energy solution than just tidal.
Tidal energy is too variable, needs large tides, and very rugged equipment that can survive storms, and future storms may be stronger.
And the equipment has to stand salt water corrosion. That is expensive.
So, now, like for the past 50 years, good idea, but no cigar (as in prize, I do not smoke or promote the habit)
Tidal energy is too variable, needs large tides, and very rugged equipment that can survive storms, and future storms may be stronger.
And the equipment has to stand salt water corrosion. That is expensive.
So, now, like for the past 50 years, good idea, but no cigar (as in prize, I do not smoke or promote the habit)
As I said, in my view it would be wrong to exclude any potential methods.
" La Rance: learning from the world’s oldest tidal project
Tidal energy has faced huge challenges in an effort to obtain large-scale adoption, with many arguing that it cannot be made economic. But an often overlooked benefit is the huge lifespans of the technology, as typified by the La Rance power station in France. Scarlett Evans takes a look at the grandma of tidal power. Scarlett Evans October 28, 2019"
https://www.power-technology.com/features/la-rance-learning-from-the-worlds-oldest-tidal-project/
There are a number of locations in the UK that could be used, though as with all things british, "thinking" about it seems to take a lifetime.
"Located between the landmasses of England and Wales, the Severn Estuary is the point at which the river Severn, Great Britain's longest river, flows into the Bristol Channel. The average tidal range for the Severn Estuary is 15m (50ft)."
People still propose nuclear as a viable option, but have the true decomissioning costs ever been factored into their generation costs?
" The Guardian "
The cost of decommissioning the UK’s seven ageing nuclear power stations has nearly doubled to £23.5bn and is likely to rise further, the public accounts committee has said. The soaring costs of safely decommissioning the advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs), including Dungeness B, Hunterston B and Hinkley B, are being loaded on to the taxpayer, their report said."
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/20/uk-nuclear-power-stations-decommissioning-cost
" La Rance: learning from the world’s oldest tidal project
Tidal energy has faced huge challenges in an effort to obtain large-scale adoption, with many arguing that it cannot be made economic. But an often overlooked benefit is the huge lifespans of the technology, as typified by the La Rance power station in France. Scarlett Evans takes a look at the grandma of tidal power. Scarlett Evans October 28, 2019"
https://www.power-technology.com/features/la-rance-learning-from-the-worlds-oldest-tidal-project/
There are a number of locations in the UK that could be used, though as with all things british, "thinking" about it seems to take a lifetime.
"Located between the landmasses of England and Wales, the Severn Estuary is the point at which the river Severn, Great Britain's longest river, flows into the Bristol Channel. The average tidal range for the Severn Estuary is 15m (50ft)."
People still propose nuclear as a viable option, but have the true decomissioning costs ever been factored into their generation costs?
" The Guardian "
The cost of decommissioning the UK’s seven ageing nuclear power stations has nearly doubled to £23.5bn and is likely to rise further, the public accounts committee has said. The soaring costs of safely decommissioning the advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGRs), including Dungeness B, Hunterston B and Hinkley B, are being loaded on to the taxpayer, their report said."
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/may/20/uk-nuclear-power-stations-decommissioning-cost
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The problem with all intermittent generation isn't the generation it's storage.
To level out the peaks and troughs you need a lot. Particularly with wind, where calm periods can last for several days, even weeks. It's a big issue that the UK has yet to address.
At least with tidal it's predictable...
To level out the peaks and troughs you need a lot. Particularly with wind, where calm periods can last for several days, even weeks. It's a big issue that the UK has yet to address.
At least with tidal it's predictable...
You know, putting things under the water will probably have the same impact of the water-birds (read: fish) - everything impacts something....
//
Remember, when using tidal one could decide to hold the water back for a while (all other things being equal) and only release it when best advantage is to be gained. Cross country sharing will also come to be more common as their demand peaks will be different. One can also use pumped water storage facilities such as...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinorwig_Power_Station
To store energy and flatten the demand curve.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinorwig_Power_Station
To store energy and flatten the demand curve.
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Maybe I said that already, but most current energy is in fact fusion generated.
We have a giant and nearly ever lasting fusion plant some 8 lightminutes away, in perfectly safe distance.
Solar, wind, hydropower and biofuel is transformed fusion power.
Fossile power is stored, transformed fusion power.
Nuclear, geothermal and tide power however are not sun-related, which is interesting.
The most interesting one for me is tidal power, because it means harvesting energy from the moon!
Tidal power in theory could be made continuous.
First double the construction cost or more.
The lagoon has to have two more sub lagoons made.
One is filled towards high tide through its own turbine while the lull at high tide takes place.
The other is filled at high tide and provides the power during the low tide lull via its own turbine.
First double the construction cost or more.
The lagoon has to have two more sub lagoons made.
One is filled towards high tide through its own turbine while the lull at high tide takes place.
The other is filled at high tide and provides the power during the low tide lull via its own turbine.
Supposing you have a perfectly insulated house, how deep would you have to go to get geothermal at a comfortable temp ( say if you had thermaly conductive foundations, or just pipes with a computer fan)?
I like the idea of solar water heating, but it's most effective in the summer when you need it least. I guess the amount of hot water used for washing remains constant throughout the year though.
I like the idea of solar water heating, but it's most effective in the summer when you need it least. I guess the amount of hot water used for washing remains constant throughout the year though.
I'm starting on installing PV and wondering about removing the existing solar water heater, adding more PV panels and heating the water using an immersion heater.
Anything generated after the water is hot goes in the batteries...
Having looked at this a bit, most companies like to drill down at least 100Mtrs. The problem is that they want £40+ per Mtr drilled. Average homes need between one and two holes. For shallow trench geothermal they go down 1.2Mtrs, but a large area of coverage is required (I was told half to three quarters of an acre), otherwise the ground can freeze. All being said if the property is well insulated it's less likely as the drawer off is smaller. As long as the radiators are oversized (50%) I was told 55 degrees flow temp from the heat pump is OK, thus keeping the COP high. Personally I like the idea of PV's with battery storage (for any extra electricity produced) using an air source heat pump and some heat store buffer storage.
Temperature rises by about 3° per 100 m of drilling depth.
The average temperature of the earth surface in europe is about 12°.
So without heat pump you would have to drill quite deep.
Some people were experimenting with PVs, they hung them vertically, just to see what happened. They didn't need cleaning, they weren't damaged by hail, but the most surprising result was they provided more power, I think it was because the "chimney effect" of them being vertical helped dissipate heat.
Not ttoo deep i understand. One of our members (from Duncan) works for a compzny installing heat pumps that use the geothermal cache to generate heat. Once you get down far enuff the temperature is a pretty constant 13° C.
dave
How deep: it depends https://dandelionenergy.com/determining-the-appropriate-length-of-a-geothermal-borehole
dave
dave
Perhaps. I fell over this site which has all sorts of useful information including a formula for calculating yields. It's not for those triggered by complex equations...
I've seen people making fences out of PV panels. Keeps people out and generates electricity
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