Zombie electricity projects in Britain face axe to ease quicker grid connections

[ProDave]

A bit of common sense at last.  Someone has finally woken up to the fact the required updates to the UK electricity grid just cannot happen as quick as needed, so they are now prioritising maximum return and scrapping what they are calling zombie projects.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/news/zombie-electricity-projects-in-britain-face-axe-to-ease-quicker-grid-connections/ar-AA1RUHYT?cvid=c5a99d221d7e4946a24f8787fdfa1199&ei=21

 

I would hope that means the scrapping to yet more relatively small wind farms here in favour of bigger ones in better locations (off shore)  and likewise the something like 4 battery storage plants planned to occupy some of the fields not far from here.

[DamonHD]

Didn't see in there a link to NESO document:

 

https://www.neso.energy/industry-information/connections-reform/connections-reform-results

[ProDave]

19 minutes ago, DamonHD said:

Didn't see in there a link to NESO document:

 

https://www.neso.energy/industry-information/connections-reform/connections-reform-results

 

Thanks.  I had a look at that, not the easiest site to navigate, but it confirmed what I have thought for a long time, Scotland has enough onshore wind generation already.

 

I pulled this paragraph:

 

"Onshore Wind
What’s the situation?

Across some parts of Great Britain, there’s a shortfall in onshore wind power for 2035, meaning not enough wind projects are planned to meet the targets. England and Wales especially need more wind projects, while Scotland is already above its target. 

What happens next?

In the next round of applications to connect to the grid, only wind projects in Scotland that have special protections (like planning permission) will be allowed to move forward. England and Wales will be open for new “ready” wind projects to help fill the gap. "

 

 

 

[SteamyTea]

What I wish would happen is that they stopped drizzling these reports (or how they are reported) with weasel words.

Terms like 'shovel ready' are a (expletive deleted)ing nonsense.

Our electrical infrastructure needs a certain amount of redesign and renewal, based on need, not poncy reports to politicians.

A quick search shows that by 2035, between £28 and £35bn need to be spent on the main infrastructure.  I wonder how much of that is spent on getting planning permission, I cannot seem to find a number for it.

[ProDave]

The report itself seems okay, it is the lousy "report it to Joe public" news article that is of the dumbed down nature.

 

As I say, it DOES highlight Scotland has been the target for so much wind farm, and now there is a document confirming we have more than our target, so please no more.  Time for England and Wales to have their share if they want the lights down there to stay on.

 

I will be forwarding this to everyone I know .

[SteamyTea]

3 minutes ago, ProDave said:

so please no more

Why.

Surely a nation what to export to earn an income.  There is no difference between export electricity and whiskey, except whiskey kills more people, and smells worse than the resins used to make turbine blades.

 

People bang on about how we do not have a manufacturing industry, why is Scotland not making wind turbines.  There would be a good local market, many good engineers, experience in the marine environment, energy experts, plenty of old industrial sites ripe for redevelopment and a huge nearby market.

I put this same suggestion forward down here, all I get is blank looks.

[ProDave]

Why no more?  Because we have enough already, and the grid can't connect more and get all that power down south.  So they have decided sensibly, lets build more down near where most of the power is used.

 

Drive around Scotland and it is hard to find anywhere you can't see a wind farm.  Drive around England and it is often hard to find anywhere you can see a wind farm.

[saveasteading]

1 hour ago, ProDave said:

Time for England and Wales to have their share

The 'Home Counties'. Bedfordshire, Oxfordshire  etc. Now that HS2 isn't tunneling under to ease the pain of the locals in the only part of the UK where here are such considerations, , that would be an ideal place for wind turbines. I'm sure the locals won't object if it is for the general good. If they took extras it would feed London where there is obviously a need.

Made at Ardersier using wind power, and shipped down.

 

An alternative of course would be a tariff for power heading across the border... it is industry after all.

[Temp]

Lots of wind farms in East Anglia. Very few south of London.

Edited 8 hours ago by Temp

[ProDave]

It has been a gripe of mine for some time that there is hardly a range of hills in Scotland without at least one wind farm, yet all the main hills in S England, Cotswolds, Chilterns, Downs (all of them) etc etc are devoid of any wind farms.

 

I am all for sharing, but while Scotland has been the soft target, enough is enough and the people of the shires need to realise converting to wind power means you WILL see turbines spinning on your hills, you WILL see extra pylons matching across your landscape to connect them.

 

It can't all happen, out of sight, of no consequence, in that distant outpost of the UK that you have vaguely heard about called "Scotland"

[SteamyTea]

Until recently, England was not allowed to have windturbines built.

Not the developers, the DNO/Energy companies, locals or users fault, it was legislation.

(I have many turbines down here from the pre legislation days, no one mentions them these days)

[ProDave]

53 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

Until recently, England was not allowed to have windturbines built.

Not the developers, the DNO/Energy companies, locals or users fault, it was legislation.

(I have many turbines down here from the pre legislation days, no one mentions them these days)

Yes typical lack of joined up thinking.  We need wind farms to meet the move to renewables, so it simply should not be that they are prohibited.

 

I have just been talking to a friend of mine who happens to be a councilor.  It appears by a similar state of stupidity, that councils here are still approving wind farm developments, in spite of this document saying they are not needed and will not be connected, because the Scottish National planning framework still says they are and has not been updated.  He told me of one councilor being ejected from a planning meeting because he suggested no more should be approved in Scotland.

[SteamyTea]

6 minutes ago, ProDave said:

that councils here are still approving wind farm developments, in spite of this document saying they are not needed and will not be connected

The legislation needs time to filter though the system.

 

I was at a Transition Town meeting about 20 years ago, the MP at the time was Matthew Taylor, he did a fascinating, non political, monologue about why, when the government says something, you never see any action on the ground. It gets watered down, corrupted and sometimes ignored at every level.  I don't think he was cut out for politics.

[Gone West]

1 hour ago, SteamyTea said:

the MP at the time was Matthew Taylor, he did a fascinating, non political, monologue about why, when the government says something, you never see any action on the ground. It gets watered down, corrupted and sometimes ignored at every level.

We've been watching 'Yes Minister' and 'Yes Prime Minister' on iPlayer recently. It shows that off exactly. Just as brilliant the second time around.

[saveasteading]

2 hours ago, SteamyTea said:

I don't think he was cut out for politics.

If you tell the public the whole, realistic  story you don't get elected.

[SteamyTea]

2 minutes ago, saveasteading said:

If you tell the public the whole, realistic  story you don't get elected.

I think the public should be smart enough to realise that nothing happens quickly.

I think the real frustration is the changes in policies.

It makes it impossible for any infrastructure planning.  This may be a tactic that the denationalised companies use, do nothing until there is a crisis, then steamroller the government into getting their (the companies) way.

[saveasteading]

17 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

I think the public should be smart

I wish, but don't think.

No party politics here, but we know a lot of people like to hear that everything is somebody else's fault and easily sorted.

[JohnMo]

36 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

think the public should be smart enough to realise that nothing happens quickly.

Should is very different to are. Some or a lot think, new party in parliament, everything will change tomorrow.

 

7 hours ago, ProDave said:

it DOES highlight Scotland has been the target for so much wind farm

That maybe due to the wind density in parts of Scotland being among the highest anywhere. So more bang for your buck. But they are better located offshore, can be bigger, nothing in the way to disrupt laminar air flow for best output. High voltage DC to allow transport of the electric with very little losses.

[JohnMo]

One good thing about plenty of wind power is it's CO2 free. Our current CO2 intensity 

[Roger440]

9 hours ago, SteamyTea said:

What I wish would happen is that they stopped drizzling these reports (or how they are reported) with weasel words.

Terms like 'shovel ready' are a (expletive deleted)ing nonsense.

Our electrical infrastructure needs a certain amount of redesign and renewal, based on need, not poncy reports to politicians.

A quick search shows that by 2035, between £28 and £35bn need to be spent on the main infrastructure.  I wonder how much of that is spent on getting planning permission, I cannot seem to find a number for it.

 

We all know that the total bill will be several times the number you quote. They just cant admit it yet.

 

Will be just like HS2, which will be over 100 billion and only get as far as birmingham. That was originally to be circa 30 billion and get to the north too.

 

 Ill mention it again for fun, those costs will be added to the cost of electricity.

 

We are incapable of building infrastructure for sensible money anymore.