A bloke I "know" on another forum works on offshore wind farm installation and maintenance. He recently posted this promotional video which includes, amongst other things, how they make and deploy the armoured cable for wind farm use on the sea bottom. Technically way above my head but very interesting...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyR-5O_jrgw
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Currently Oil Rigs have multiple Gas Turbines which produce the power needed on the rig.
It is envisaged some older & newer rigs can be supplied from an extension to the National Grid.
The one featured on the BBC News today is a 200MW cable - the effect on production costs will be substantial as the Gas Turbine power is around 20-25% of the cost of Windmill Power supplied via the National Grid
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>> The one featured on the BBC News today is a 200MW cable - the effect
>> on production costs will be substantial as the Gas Turbine power is around 20-25% of
>> the cost of Windmill Power supplied via the National Grid
>>
Please forgive me if I’ve misread this.
Why change to the grid of gas turbines are one fifth to one quarter of the price of grid power?
There doesn’t seem to be any logic save for green credentials!
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Well as we want neither oil rigs nor gas I suppose it's a win-win if it causes the oil rigs to become uneconomic :-)
AIUI the price of household electricity is based around the most expensive method of generation which is, I think, coal, with renewable being by far the cheapest (but at the moment insufficient to rely on, though loads is coming on stream all the time, plus new interconnectors).
I can't see the Beeb article, can you put a link up please?
Last edited by: smokie on Sun 30 Jul 23 at 00:07
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Wind might be cheapest but you have to add the cost of gas stations as wind power is unstable & unreliable . Wind might be 15GW today and next to zero tomorrow.
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>> Wind might be cheapest but you have to add the cost of gas stations as
>> wind power is unstable & unreliable . Wind might be 15GW today and next to
>> zero tomorrow.
Right now wind is approx 13GW and half of all usage - per Gridwatch Templar.
A few days ago it was a fraction of those GW with CCGT (efficient gas) taking up most of the slack.
The gas capacity is there now and provided we can source the gas and keep the kit going that's all OK. Over the year we use far less fossil fuel to keep the lights on.
Wind and solar (currntly 13% of usage) need backing up/supplementing. Next question for the boffins is how we reduce reliance on gas for that.
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How's fusion doing? Last I heard, they'd got it working for about 5 seconds.
Probably easier to crack the energy storage problem. Hydrogen might yet have a role.
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>> Probably easier to crack the energy storage problem. Hydrogen might yet have a role.
My guess would be that some sort of storage is the way forward. Probably several forms/methods at both grid and home level.
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Didn't I hear that last week 'they' had discovered a supper conductor that works at room temperature which will have multiple applications including improvements in the development of fusion reactors.
Seemed to be a UK science person talking but I couldn't tell where is had been discovered.
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"they' had discovered a supper conductor"
at last someone to organise dinner parties
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...Simon Ratatouille....?
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UK Electricity Supply is more expensive than mainland Europe and hugely more than USA
Ongoing “green levies” on UK utility bills, used to subsidise renewable energy, have lately been suspended across many major European economies. In Britain, though, taxes and network charges still account for 56pc of household electricity bills, compared to 40pc across the EU – this share simply must be brought down.
Above all, our “marginal-cost pricing model” keeps UK energy bills comparatively high. It’s true that wind, solar and other renewables generated two-fifths of the UK’s electricity last year – out-stripping gas. But “cheap” renewables, far from cutting consumer energy bills, are pushing prices up.
Renewables still depend heavily not only on subsidies, but also a large fleet of gas power stations on standby – which must be fired up on days when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun doesn’t shine.
Such “intermittent” periods can last weeks, especially during winter, when energy demand is high. But having gas-fired stations on standby to facilitate more renewables is hugely expensive – as the sky-high fixed costs of being able to produce energy at short notice must be found from smaller revenues.
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In Britain, though, taxes and network charges still account for 56pc of household electricity bills, compared to 40pc across the EU - this share simply must be brought down.
How do we do that?
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... and are you suggesting that we don't bother with renewables cos they are too expensive?
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Here's an interesting view on the relative potential usages for hydrogen in the future.
drive.google.com/file/d/1lK0dOHxq-sjpELrJ5hWIGX66dCy_vWCW/view
I've not checked the chappies credentials but it broadly ties in with other stuff I've read.
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I thought graphics were supposed to make things clearer! Am I getting past it, I have never had problems interpreting graphical presentations in the past?
I am sure somebody will explain.
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Not just you. I was struggling too.
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>..My guess would be that some sort of storage is the way forward..
Researchers at MIT has announced that they've managed to create a supercapacitor out of.. wait for it...... concrete, carbon black (candle soot) and water.
www.theregister.com/2023/08/02/mit_concrete_battery/?td=rt-3a
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www.itv.com/news/2023-07-30/sunak-set-to-stress-north-sea-energy-opportunities-in-scotland-visit
More oil and gas licences approved by the gov. I think its difficult but I see the gov's point 'Even when we’ve reached net zero in 2050, a quarter of our energy needs will come from oil and gas'
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Video about power cable for offshore wind farms - Falkirk Bairn
