Mad Ed has taken to X to extol the virtues of his Wet Zero ‘clean energy’ dream which he claims can be made a reality according to a recent report published by Fintan Slye’s National Energy system Operator (Neso).
There is a line on the map in South Australia called the Goyder which signals the limit of reliable rainfall. A similar line is required to indicate where wind farming will fail due to severe droughts.
That line would exclude all of Australia, on and offshore, Western Europe which is subject to Dunkelflautes, and north America.
Today - a typical dull November day - my 2.5kW solar panels produced a princely 0.684kWh - enough to keep Ed Milliband's EV going for a couple of miles (at 3 miles per kWh) or about 1% of the driving distance between his Doncaster constituency and Westminster.
So on a day like today Ed would have to have installed 250kW of solar panels just to get from his cosy, fossil-fuel heated office to meet'n'greet the good folks who elected him.
Personally, I'm all for politicians being unable to travel or use the internet because of blackouts. 2030 isn't soon enough for me.
Hi Jim, I remember you said you live in Scotland. 10 years ago energy analyst Euan Mearns posted that in terms of their net energy benefit in Scotland, roof-top solar panels ”will never repay the energy used to manufacture the panels”: https://euanmearns.com/solar-scotland/.
Yes, the deep south - Dumfries. I'm inclined to be conservative in my assessment of the capabilities of solar panels so Mearns' comments make sense to me.
My own panels only recently paid back their capital cost, even with the ludicrously over-generous government subsidies (about 50p per unit). And that's not counting inflation reducing the value of the pound.
Even if CO2 were the significant greenhouse gas this would make no environmental sense. I'm afraid that the technology is not up to the job even of dealing with an imaginary problem.
Hmmm. 0.684kWh = 60×0.684=41kW minutes. Enough to make several cups of tea with a 3kW kettle - as long as you could store the accumulated solar energy in a decent, powerful battery.
It's clear that this technology is hopelessly immature and certainly not in any state to replace fuels. And that's not counting mining conditions, environmental damage from extra heavy cars, soft tyres, etc. Oh, and the odd major fire that no one can extinguish.
The replies to Miliband’s tweet are overwhelmingly anti, for example @Bishop_Beesley
“As you wrote that above 83% of our energy was provided by gas, no solar, less than 8% by wind and the rest was imported. I really, really don't know if you're stark staring mad, dishonest and rotten to the core or are simply a moron”.
There is a line on the map in South Australia called the Goyder which signals the limit of reliable rainfall. A similar line is required to indicate where wind farming will fail due to severe droughts.
That line would exclude all of Australia, on and offshore, Western Europe which is subject to Dunkelflautes, and north America.
https://www.flickerpower.com/images/The_endless_wind_drought_crippling_renewables___The_Spectator_Australia.pdf
It’s a pity that the meteorologists never warned us about wind droughts and nobody bothered to check.
Imagine building the infrastructure for a massive irrigation project without checking the water supply, especially the rainfall in the catchment area.
Its time to start planning an exit pathway from the net zero by wind and solar program.
Buy shares in manufacturers of home petrol or diesel generators.
Today - a typical dull November day - my 2.5kW solar panels produced a princely 0.684kWh - enough to keep Ed Milliband's EV going for a couple of miles (at 3 miles per kWh) or about 1% of the driving distance between his Doncaster constituency and Westminster.
So on a day like today Ed would have to have installed 250kW of solar panels just to get from his cosy, fossil-fuel heated office to meet'n'greet the good folks who elected him.
Personally, I'm all for politicians being unable to travel or use the internet because of blackouts. 2030 isn't soon enough for me.
Hi Jim, I remember you said you live in Scotland. 10 years ago energy analyst Euan Mearns posted that in terms of their net energy benefit in Scotland, roof-top solar panels ”will never repay the energy used to manufacture the panels”: https://euanmearns.com/solar-scotland/.
Yes, the deep south - Dumfries. I'm inclined to be conservative in my assessment of the capabilities of solar panels so Mearns' comments make sense to me.
My own panels only recently paid back their capital cost, even with the ludicrously over-generous government subsidies (about 50p per unit). And that's not counting inflation reducing the value of the pound.
Even if CO2 were the significant greenhouse gas this would make no environmental sense. I'm afraid that the technology is not up to the job even of dealing with an imaginary problem.
Hmmm. 0.684kWh = 60×0.684=41kW minutes. Enough to make several cups of tea with a 3kW kettle - as long as you could store the accumulated solar energy in a decent, powerful battery.
Yes, battery capacity seems to be the nub of the problem.
Nature's invention: fuels have an energy density of around 12kWh per kg compared to 0.3kWh for Li-ion - a factor of 40 (https://thundersaidenergy.com/downloads/lithium-ion-batteries-energy-density/). Research scale projects have got to 0.7kWh/kg (https://physicsworld.com/a/lithium-ion-batteries-break-energy-density-record/) but that's still short by a factor of 20 or so.
It's clear that this technology is hopelessly immature and certainly not in any state to replace fuels. And that's not counting mining conditions, environmental damage from extra heavy cars, soft tyres, etc. Oh, and the odd major fire that no one can extinguish.
A use of the term "conclusive proof" with which I am unfamiliar and do not find convincing.
“When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.” Humpty Dumpty, Alice Through The Looking Glass.
The Sun is not holding back.
labour must pull the plug on the demented fantasies of Ed Miliband
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/31509262/labour-pull-plug-demented-fantasies-ed-miliband/
More good news!
“We can solve world hunger by 2030, and for all time. We have a plan in which PEOPLE DON’T EAT! It’s a brilliant plan.”
The replies to Miliband’s tweet are overwhelmingly anti, for example @Bishop_Beesley
“As you wrote that above 83% of our energy was provided by gas, no solar, less than 8% by wind and the rest was imported. I really, really don't know if you're stark staring mad, dishonest and rotten to the core or are simply a moron”.
https://x.com/Ed_Miliband/status/1853717438296203271.
In today’s newsletter, US attorney Jeff Childers gives four good indications that Trump is going to win the Presidency: https://www.coffeeandcovid.com/p/finally-tuesday-november-5-2024-c.
Also reported today, Bernie Sanders admits on air that if Trump wins, the climate change narrative will crumble: https://x.com/VigilantFox/status/1853627591816859727.
All good news!