Look up El Hierro islands - the most renewable place 'in the EU.' More wind and sun than most places on earth, have been at the renewables game for years and last I heard they can still only muster around 56% of total energy production from renewables. Yet we're meant to believe major nation states around the world can do it. Fairytale land.
Yes Doomberg wrote a similar piece about Uruguay. Even with 50% hydro which can provide storage they still rely on a quarter fossil fuel.
I did a interview a year or two ago with Meredith Angwin who wrote 'Shorting the Grid' and her observation always stuck with me that there needs to be a 1:1 backup in some form for all renewables since storage options aren't economic. Europe can hide this with trading imports/exports i.e. Denmark uses Norway as battery with Hydro etc. But in a stand alone system 1:1 is required until battery storage could provide for intermittency and seasonality (not happening).
Moral of the story, continental Europe is fu%#ed without Norway, and realistically even with it. It's why they cling to this pipe dream of 'energy independence' via renewables.
It's not just Norway. It's the fact a number of countries are switching from net exporters to net imports on the back of pursuing renewables. Germany being largest example. Wish I could attach the chart here to help make the point. Also Imports and exports need more context with renewables, as exporting a heap of power when wind is blowing is very different to needing power imports from hydro/nuclear in middle of winter when no wind and little solar.
I don't think the point about SE Asia being areas of little wind is strong as it stands. Wind turbines aren't placed at random in a territory - those are huge areas (with long shores), and the average wind speeds over these areas doesn't matter. What matters is the quantity of good sites, which I don't think you can learn from the linked map.
Yes thats a fair point. My aim was more to point out that if it can't work in Denmark which literally has the best conditions for wind power in the world what chance do less ideal geographies have?
Meanwhile, Government's will still burn taxpayers money on a flawed ideal. I see that the UK is upping the subsidies for UK offshore wind projects after their latest auction attracted zero bids. It looks like subsidies will increase c. +60% if the report I read was accurate / proposal goes through. Inflationary [?].
They'll push this as far as they can. Ultimately the inflation feedback loop will get them as they need to print/spend money they don't have to fund these subsidies which pushes up inflation while the renewables are the most sensitive to inflation... They are already screwed it's just going to take another year or two for it to be properly acknowledged (that said it kind of is being acknowledged with Nuclear expansion now on the table for cop28, with 100% renewables being recognised for the fairy tale it is).
Look up El Hierro islands - the most renewable place 'in the EU.' More wind and sun than most places on earth, have been at the renewables game for years and last I heard they can still only muster around 56% of total energy production from renewables. Yet we're meant to believe major nation states around the world can do it. Fairytale land.
Yes Doomberg wrote a similar piece about Uruguay. Even with 50% hydro which can provide storage they still rely on a quarter fossil fuel.
I did a interview a year or two ago with Meredith Angwin who wrote 'Shorting the Grid' and her observation always stuck with me that there needs to be a 1:1 backup in some form for all renewables since storage options aren't economic. Europe can hide this with trading imports/exports i.e. Denmark uses Norway as battery with Hydro etc. But in a stand alone system 1:1 is required until battery storage could provide for intermittency and seasonality (not happening).
Moral of the story, continental Europe is fu%#ed without Norway, and realistically even with it. It's why they cling to this pipe dream of 'energy independence' via renewables.
It's not just Norway. It's the fact a number of countries are switching from net exporters to net imports on the back of pursuing renewables. Germany being largest example. Wish I could attach the chart here to help make the point. Also Imports and exports need more context with renewables, as exporting a heap of power when wind is blowing is very different to needing power imports from hydro/nuclear in middle of winter when no wind and little solar.
Always good stuff here - thx TFerg.
I don't think the point about SE Asia being areas of little wind is strong as it stands. Wind turbines aren't placed at random in a territory - those are huge areas (with long shores), and the average wind speeds over these areas doesn't matter. What matters is the quantity of good sites, which I don't think you can learn from the linked map.
Yes thats a fair point. My aim was more to point out that if it can't work in Denmark which literally has the best conditions for wind power in the world what chance do less ideal geographies have?
I guess that makes sense.
Meanwhile, Government's will still burn taxpayers money on a flawed ideal. I see that the UK is upping the subsidies for UK offshore wind projects after their latest auction attracted zero bids. It looks like subsidies will increase c. +60% if the report I read was accurate / proposal goes through. Inflationary [?].
They'll push this as far as they can. Ultimately the inflation feedback loop will get them as they need to print/spend money they don't have to fund these subsidies which pushes up inflation while the renewables are the most sensitive to inflation... They are already screwed it's just going to take another year or two for it to be properly acknowledged (that said it kind of is being acknowledged with Nuclear expansion now on the table for cop28, with 100% renewables being recognised for the fairy tale it is).