Great Day today for the wind farms :-) and Solar :-)

vintageman said:
At less than 6pence per unit - So why is the price cap going up?
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the price of electricity is not calculated on how much renewable we are generating or even how much gas we are using (to generate electricity)
its is calculated on how much all the infrastructure costs to manage and maintain over years + the actual cost of producing
currently we are in a high build phase of solar and wind and we are upgrading our out of date electricity grid to cope with the increased use of EV and also heat pumps in peoples homes.

once all this is done we will have stable and hopefully cheaper electricity (not gas that is a separate market) also much more of our electricity will be zero carbon :)

Also to be fair there is the possible money saving in homes in the future of not having a gas connection.
once we move heating to heat pumps and use induction stoves, gas will not be required so big savings for the consumer.
 
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This site is my go to for real time data

grid.iamkate.com

National Grid: Live

Shows the live status of Great Britain’s electric power transmission network
grid.iamkate.com grid.iamkate.com
 
...and we have to sell it into the market and buy it back at spot prices, market price is higher than local economic price, I believe
 
lindsay said:
...and we have to sell it into the market and buy it back at spot prices, market price is higher than local economic price, I believe
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yes it is the only way to encourage investement in these industries.
wind farms cost a lot to build but once built are quite cheap to maintain.
 
Wind power of the years :)
Imagine in 10 more years what the number could be

in only 7 years we have more than doubled !

1728215432948.png
 
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Mr Bump said:
yes it is the only way to encourage investement in these industries.
wind farms cost a lot to build but once built are quite cheap to maintain.
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Yes. I'd suggest that enough carrot, it's time for stick. Swap so we are fixing prices relative to renewables instead of gas. So people with renewables make a reasonable profit and people burning gas find it uneconomic. Done correctly (with enough warnings to the market and a sufficient profit margin) and we could cut a huge amount off fuel bills. So that the winter fuel allowance was no longer necessary saving HMG a significant sum and possibly salvaging the current government's credibility.

I can dream, right?
 
JonathanRyan said:
Yes. I'd suggest that enough carrot, it's time for stick. Swap so we are fixing prices relative to renewables instead of gas. So people with renewables make a reasonable profit and people burning gas find it uneconomic. Done correctly (with enough warnings to the market and a sufficient profit margin) and we could cut a huge amount off fuel bills. So that the winter fuel allowance was no longer necessary saving HMG a significant sum and possibly salvaging the current government's credibility.

I can dream, right?
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100% agree but again to be fair I want to get to renewable quicker and maybe for that we still need a decent sized carrot :)

and realy the bigger push has to be wind as it can operate at night wheras solar cannot
 
JonathanRyan said:
Yes. I'd suggest that enough carrot, it's time for stick. Swap so we are fixing prices relative to renewables instead of gas. So people with renewables make a reasonable profit and people burning gas find it uneconomic. Done correctly (with enough warnings to the market and a sufficient profit margin) and we could cut a huge amount off fuel bills. So that the winter fuel allowance was no longer necessary saving HMG a significant sum and possibly salvaging the current government's credibility.

I can dream, right?
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That would need the wholesale electricity market to be completely changed and the savings may not be as big as you expect, Currently multiple providers bid in at negative prices per MWh to ensure their product gets bought as things like nuclear reactors are slow to start and stop (though they can be stopped very fast in an emergency), which is why sometimes the cost of electric for a 30 minute period is negative. That would stop happening, and generators would need to bid at a level that would at least cover their costs.

It would stop the massive profits the solar / wind generators make when gas (or worse, hydro) is needed though.
 
onomatopoeia said:
That would need the wholesale electricity market to be completely changed and the savings may not be as big as you expect, Currently multiple providers bid in at negative prices per MWh to ensure their product gets bought as things like nuclear reactors are slow to start and stop (though they can be stopped very fast in an emergency), which is why sometimes the cost of electric for a 30 minute period is negative. That would stop happening, and generators would need to bid at a level that would at least cover their costs.

It would stop the massive profits the solar / wind generators make when gas (or worse, hydro) is needed though.
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Thanks - yes I appreciate it would be complex and may actually push costs up at some times. If we hit a period when wind and solar aren't enough then buying power in could be very expensive. I remember studying Dinorwig at school and thinking "what a dumb idea - it doesn't produce any power". But when you think of it as a giant battery it makes sense.

But at the moment we have an energy market where some people (me included) get paid to charge their Teslas, while others literally die due to the cost of gas. I think it's time to try a different model.
 
Dunkelflaute seems to be a problem at the moment. Not a great time for Eddy M!
 
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