Cyclone Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 You're still not making any sense. You're using a few big words but you don't seem to understand what you are talking about. I'll help you. About now, the UK national grid needs about 33GW of electricity. What do you think it will need at 9pm tonight? Higher or lower? What do you think happens in the winter at approx 5pm... I'll give you a few clues. Everyone gets home from work. It's dark. They want a hot drink and to make dinner. They want a warm house and to watch some TV The sun isn't shining. The wind isn't blowing. It's cold outside. Because base load needs to be provided for at it's peak, in the winter, on a cold windless day in the early evening. Not at it's lowest in the summer, when it's warm and light until 9pm and the wind is blowing. ---------- Post added 29-07-2015 at 13:42 ---------- Nuclear is not the cheapest, I am soon to be having solar panels fitted to my council house. Not sure how it all works, I believe I get free electricity when I am at home using it, the rest goes into the grid. It might be expensive overall, but these subsidies are going back to the tax payer. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_electricity_by_source#/media/File:Nuke,_coal,_gas_generating_costs.png Cheapest doesn't mean cheapest to you personally, it means overall. If there were no subsidies you wouldn't be having solar panels fitted, because economically it would make no sense. The subsidies are not going back "to the tax payer" they're not even going back to the minority who can fit solar panels. They're going to the owners of wind farm building companies primarily. Who probably vote conservative. ---------- Post added 29-07-2015 at 13:43 ---------- Solar panels generate around 20% of their normal output, on a cloudy day. You know how much they produce at night time though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truman Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 We're going off at a slight tangent here but why is electricity from renewables more expensive per kwhr than fossil/nuclear..after all there's no fuel to buy.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbeliever Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 (edited) We're going off at a slight tangent here but why is electricity from renewables more expensive per kwhr than fossil/nuclear..after all there's no fuel to buy.... The equipment itself is extremely expensive. It has a limited lifespan. Nuclear is actually similar. Most of the cost goes into the building and decommissioning, the fuel cost is comparatively small. There's also a huge hidden cost dealing with the intermittency problem of renewables which is usually countered by having a fossil fuel power station constantly running as well and discarding the energy it produces. Edited July 29, 2015 by unbeliever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
truman Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 The equipment itself is extremely expensive. It has a limited lifespan.. Just like a "normal" power station then.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbeliever Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Just like a "normal" power station then.. In the broadest possible terms, yes. Fossil fuel power stations last quite a bit longer and produce a steady supply of electricity. That's they're strength. It also costs a lot less to build a GW of fossil power station than a GW of wind farm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Cid Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 You know how much they produce at night time though? When you are in bed you need very little power, after 5pm my wind turbine may be turning; I may need to use my LED lighting which are about 10 times more efficient than my old type of lighting. Times are changing, move on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbeliever Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 When you are in bed you need very little power, after 5pm my wind turbine may be turning; I may need to use my LED lighting which are about 10 times more efficient than my old type of lighting. Times are changing, move on. Are you happy to be denied all heating, lighting, cooking etc if the wind isn't blowing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Cid Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 We're going off at a slight tangent here but why is electricity from renewables more expensive per kwhr than fossil/nuclear..after all there's no fuel to buy.... Solar and wind power generators will probably pay for themselves within 15 years, so they cost nothing after 15 years, but their life span is around 20 years, so you might need to pay for another one in 20 years. Where as you pay your gas n electric bill, year after year, after year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unbeliever Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Solar and wind power generators will probably pay for themselves within 15 years, so they cost nothing after 15 years, but their life span is around 20 years, so you might need to pay for another one in 20 years. Where as you pay your gas n electric bill, year after year, after year. What does that matter if the total cost to you is higher with renewables than with proper power stations? Are you happy to be denied all heating, lighting, cooking etc if the wind isn't blowing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Cid Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 Are you happy to be denied all heating, lighting, cooking etc if the wind isn't blowing? I have answered this one .. No one is suggesting we use 100% solar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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