The HEDON Household Energy Network (www.hedon.info ) holds a monthly informal meeting in London, UK, where practitioners, policy-makers, funders, and business-owners actively pursuing a cleaner, affordable and more efficient household energy sector unite to share their experiences, learn from one another, and create new knowledge. The next meeting, which your members may find interesting, will […]
Marvelous Piece from Electrical Review / Gossage column – electricity privatisation and Ofgem
Truth of the matter – from the marvelous Electrical Review Gossage Column. There has been much ribald laughter at the expense of the energy regulator, from the moment it published its grandiose ‘Discovery’ set of five scenarios for the next decade. Each of which admits the existing electricity system simply isn’t working. Ever since electricity […]
Engine Failure & Condition Assessment
Gas / diesel internal combustion engine, generator set, marine engine failure and condition assessment expertise Believe it or not there are specialists who know about why engines fail and who are hired by disgruntled purchasers, insurance loss adjusters, and often disgruntled engine suppliers. Engines can cost up to £40million for a large marine engine, or […]
Grid-Connected Intermittent Renewables Are The Last To Be Stored
( Note – this article will shortly be published in the Elsevier International Journal of Renewable Energy which owns all rights.) Abstract When hydro-electric power systems became wide-spread, associated developments for energy storage, using pumped water, soon followed. Many other methods of storage have since been considered. Today’s interest in other renewables, notably wind energy […]
Independent Power & Energy Europe conference NEC, Birmingham, 8th – 10th June 2010
The Conference on Independent Power Generation will be held at the NEC Birmingham, 8th – 10th June 2010. IP&EE – Independent Power & Energy Europe – is the essential biannual event for the Independent European Energy Sector. The Show provides an ideal platform for players in the energy industry to showcase the latest cutting-edge technology […]
Electric power transmission costs per kWh transmission / National Grid in the UK (note this excludes distribution costs)
Info from National Grid on Capex of UK Transmission system ( this would appear to confirm that transmission charges are based on replacement costs, not written down / depreciated. I’m not an accountant / economist but if you divide the £11.5b over say 30 years repayment and add in the 4.5% and divide by kWh […]
The CEGB (Central Electricity Generating Board) were not blinkered and recognised that wind had a capacity credit value
We weren’t blinkered in the CEGB. We were well aware that wind energy CAN be credited with firm capacity [see Swift-Hook, D. T., 1987 “Firm power from the wind” Wind Energy Conversion, Ed. J. M. Galt, (MEP : London) p. 33] and that the cost of off-setting the variability of wind is modest, see […]
North Sea Supergrid Declaration
The declaration: 1. The Ministers of the North Seas Countries: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom Considering, 2. The crucial role which offshore wind energy is bound to play in order for Europe to meet the EU’s 20-20-20 targets. The major part of offshore wind energy development in […]
Cash boost for alternative energy – Phys. Technol., Vol. 9, 1978 and how the UK lost the race to be a major wind energy producer
Cash boost for alternative energy The level of UK Government spending on development of alternative sources of energy is to increase by 60%. In a White Paper last month the Government announced plans for P6m-worth of research and development, to supplement PlOm already committed. Almost half of the extra money (P2.9m) will go on wave […]
The costs of variability due to the presence of large quantities of intermittent/variable wind energy on the UK national grid.
Managing Variability – A report to WWF-UK, RSPB, Greenpeace UK and Friends of the Earth EWNI SUMMARY In order to comply with legislation from the European Union, the UK’s renewable energy target (to produce 15% of final energy consumption from renewable sources by 2020) may require between 35 and 40% of our electricity to come […]