That's Scotland's entire population served.

[saveasteading]

Berwick Bank wind farm in the outer Firth of Forth with up to 307 turbines generating enough electricity to power up to six million homes.

 

So that supplies all Scotlands needs when the wind is blowing. Meters on the cables to England and Scandinavia and the Holyrood budget will benefit hugely.

[ProDave]

I posted a while back that the national grid operator has declared there will be no more wind farm connections to the grid in Scotland (after the ones already scheduled for connection) until at least 2035 and that more wind farms are needed in England and Wales.

 

We just need that implemented in planning policy because planning applications are still being decided for wind farms near us.  If you try objecting on the grounds they will not get a grid connection the planners say that is not a planning matter.

 

As usual no joined up thinking.  If a grid connection is not possible, then planning should not be possible.  Unless you want a load of wind farms built and probably paid some form of compensation for not generating because they cannot get connected?

[JohnMo]

And we currently get most days supplied by wind already. 

 

The more wind farms the better for me. At least the tax payer isn't paying hand over fist for decades while generation sites are built, unlike nuclear, which then gobbles up money for the next 100 generations managing the waste and securing the site that cannot be cleaned and stays irradiated.

[SteamyTea]

Had a bit of a traumatic day today, so not really kept up with the news, but the results of the power supply auctions were released today.

8.4 GW of wind.

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/record-breaking-auction-for-offshore-wind-secured-to-take-back-control-of-britains-energy

[G and J]

1 hour ago, SteamyTea said:

 

@SteamyTeaHope you're ok , J

[SteamyTea]

8 hours ago, G and J said:

Hope you're ok

I am fine, but thank you.

[ToughButterCup]

14 hours ago, SteamyTea said:

Had a bit of a traumatic day today,...

 

Attack of wind son?   🙃

Hope you're recovering

[Alan Ambrose]

>>> taking back control of its energy, and lowering bills for good

 

Yeah, right. Until the big US tech firms double the load on the grid.

 

Err, what is being auctioned here - the right to build off the coast?

[SteamyTea]

2 hours ago, Alan Ambrose said:

what is being auctioned here

I think so.

Works out cheaper than new gas.

[Roger440]

38 minutes ago, SteamyTea said:

I think so.

Works out cheaper than new gas.

 

Gas is, i understand, circa £55 v yesterdays 20 year commitment to paying £95. 20 years!

 

Guess i was right. Only one way for bills to go. Still makes it more viable to install solar and batteries etc.

 

Meanwhile oil prices are going down and projected to stay that way in the short to medium term. Guess ill hang on to my oil boiler.

Edited 12 hours ago by Roger440

[SteamyTea]

40 minutes ago, Roger440 said:

Gas is, i understand, circa £55 v yesterdays 20 year commitment to paying £95. 20 years

I think you are misunderstanding the whole concept of 'new generation'.

If you accept that we need to replace, and run, extra electrical capacity, which also includes the associated infrastructure, and it is also agreed that the price is fixed until some future date i.e. 20 years.  Then wind and solar are coming in as the cheapest.

To put it into automotive terms, it is like buying a car.  A new Ford Focus is between £24,200 and £33,770, on a finance deal, with Ford's BIK, the monthly price is between £140.48 and £343.84 (https://www.ford.co.uk/content/dam/guxeu/uk/documents/price-list/cars/PL-New_Focus.pdf)

Buy a second hand Focus, over ten years old, and the prices vary from £360 to £3, 984 (AutoTrader).

 

No good comparing two very prices. even if the product seems the same, while arguing that they are the same.

 

 

Edited 11 hours ago by SteamyTea

[-rick-]

36 minutes ago, Roger440 said:

Gas is, i understand, circa £55 v yesterdays 20 year commitment to paying £95. 20 years!

 

From the horses mouth:

 

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/record-breaking-auction-for-offshore-wind-secured-to-take-back-control-of-britains-energy

 

It's more like £140 (gas) and £91 (new commitment) according to their figures.

 

Surprised me as both seem very high compared to the numbers that I'm used to thinking about. Later in the doc they say the prices are often stated adjusted to 2012 prices and in that regard the wind is £65 which sounds much more in line with what I was thinking.

[SteamyTea]

3 minutes ago, -rick- said:

Surprised me as both seem very high compared to the numbers that I'm used to thinking about. Later in the doc they say the prices are often stated adjusted to 2012 prices and in that regard the wind is £65 which sounds much more in line with what I was thinking.

I don't understand the 2012 pricing.

2012 was when we held the Olympics.

And a good TV series about it.

 

[Roger440]

8 hours ago, SteamyTea said:

I think you are misunderstanding the whole concept of 'new generation'.

If you accept that we need to replace, and run, extra electrical capacity, which also includes the associated infrastructure, and it is also agreed that the price is fixed until some future date i.e. 20 years.  Then wind and solar are coming in as the cheapest.

To put it into automotive terms, it is like buying a car.  A new Ford Focus is between £24,200 and £33,770, on a finance deal, with Ford's BIK, the monthly price is between £140.48 and £343.84 (https://www.ford.co.uk/content/dam/guxeu/uk/documents/price-list/cars/PL-New_Focus.pdf)

Buy a second hand Focus, over ten years old, and the prices vary from £360 to £3, 984 (AutoTrader).

 

No good comparing two very prices. even if the product seems the same, while arguing that they are the same.

 

 

 

Whilst one can debate "existing V new" and the like, it is, to a large extent, acedemic.

 

The point is still the same. Thats awfully expensive, and can only result in ever higher prices to the consumer. Those costs dont include any of the required infrastructure for distribution as i understand it.

 

Summary. Electricity will get more expensive. Whatever government ministers might say. But we all know they lie, so i guess we shouldnt be surprised.

 

In a way though, it gets the result you always wanted. Make it so expensive that we either use less or find another way to self generate. It certainly reduces my concern that my payback calculations could be undermined by reductions in electricity cost.

 

Obviously wont be so good for those unable to invest in such measures because they dont have the capital. Nor the economy.

 

Must get the solar panels planted this summer.

 

 

[JohnMo]

18 minutes ago, Roger440 said:

Must get the solar panels planted this summer.

Get your finger out!

[Roger440]

16 minutes ago, JohnMo said:

Get your finger out!

 

Its the 150m cable run thats the killer! That needs trenching in.

[JohnMo]

3 minutes ago, Roger440 said:

 

Its the 150m cable run thats the killer! That needs trenching in.

Can you not surface run it?

[Roger440]

1 hour ago, JohnMo said:

Can you not surface run it?

 

Sadly not. Its got to come across a field, then a driveway/yard.

 

And i need to go big on cable size, because its, a) a long way so voltage drop becomes a real issue, b) if i want to increase the size of the array, which i almost certainly will as secondhand panels are so cheap now, i dont want to re-vsit the cable.

Edited 48 minutes ago by Roger440