Jules_Theone
Member
Obviously, I think all electricity generation should be renewable / carbon neutral, but most of the time it isn't practical.
Recently I've read that Britain is facing an energy short-fall. Power stations will be decommissioned withing the next few years and the replacements aren't going to be built quick enough. Nuclear power stations will be built but will not be operational for ten years. Large renewable wind farms / hydro-electric / solar arrays can be built faster but are expensive and when it's not windy, raining or sunny there will still need to be backup generation such as gas, nuclear, coal etc to fill the gap. At times of peak consumption surplus generation needs to be available in case everyone wants a cup of tea for example. If consumption > generation the system will fail.
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Britain facing large energy gap
I think there needs to be a massive change in electricity generation to maintain energy security. I believe the solution is a lot of renewable generation everywhere, whether its large wind farms, solar arrays or hydro, or micro-gen with a small wind turbine on the tops of high buildings, solar panels on roofs etc. Basically it WILL be windy, sunny or raining somewhere in the world. Also have large short term energy generation and run the distribution network slightly above consumption.
Another idea is smart appliances which can sense when the grid is being taxed and enter a low power state. Or an internet connected indicator of consumption vs. generation where people can see in real-time if there is available capacity to run the electric shower.
Please feel free to poke holes in these ideas - you always find problems with my schemes!
Recently I've read that Britain is facing an energy short-fall. Power stations will be decommissioned withing the next few years and the replacements aren't going to be built quick enough. Nuclear power stations will be built but will not be operational for ten years. Large renewable wind farms / hydro-electric / solar arrays can be built faster but are expensive and when it's not windy, raining or sunny there will still need to be backup generation such as gas, nuclear, coal etc to fill the gap. At times of peak consumption surplus generation needs to be available in case everyone wants a cup of tea for example. If consumption > generation the system will fail.
BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Britain facing large energy gap
I think there needs to be a massive change in electricity generation to maintain energy security. I believe the solution is a lot of renewable generation everywhere, whether its large wind farms, solar arrays or hydro, or micro-gen with a small wind turbine on the tops of high buildings, solar panels on roofs etc. Basically it WILL be windy, sunny or raining somewhere in the world. Also have large short term energy generation and run the distribution network slightly above consumption.
Another idea is smart appliances which can sense when the grid is being taxed and enter a low power state. Or an internet connected indicator of consumption vs. generation where people can see in real-time if there is available capacity to run the electric shower.
Please feel free to poke holes in these ideas - you always find problems with my schemes!