ENERGY MATTERS

[Stanley]

I had a look at the BG site for times of Economy 7. It varies from region to region but in the old YEB area it's 00:30 to 07:30 in Winter and an hour later in Summer. (LINK)
I'm usually in the shed by 07:00 so will get a bit of benefit. As I am up early I'll do my roasting and washing first thing in the morning when I get up.
I know it sounds strange and I don't know whether I am a special case, I doubt it. She definitely said that it would be free and would be marked as such on my monthly bill. I look forward to the next account, if it isn't on she will get another letter asking for written confirmation.

[Stanley]

A very puzzling letter from BG yesterday. In it the writer states that my smart meter is not reading a dual rate, that it is accurate and reporting and that I would be billed monthly on my usage up to the first of the month.
The puzzling thing is that this flies in the face of the meter reader and the lady who handled my original complaint who told me a different story. Who's right? God knows, I shall wait until I see my next bill. One thing is certain, the left hand at BG doesn't know what the right hand is saying......

[LizG]

We've just spent the last week in Cornwall and there were a lot of solar farms around. We would never see those in Aus because of the cost in establishing them. Can someone give me some info about them please? For instance are they commercial, are they subsidised?

Loved Cornwall but I can't say I'm sorry to have moved away from the skinny, steep, windy roads.

[Tizer]

Hi Liz. The big installations on acres of farmland are commercial. Both domestic and commercial solar installations were subsidised in the UK but I think the commercial subsidy ended in 2017. The first non-subsidy one was set up in that year and I guess other people are waiting to see if it's viable. Some of the installations were built on high quality agricultural land because of the subsidy and there were concerns that we might lose some of the best land from agricultural production. Pluggy knows more about solar energy and if he doesn't dip into this thread you could PM him and ask for information. At least you've got plenty of sunlight out there - I look out of my window at the moment and there are black clouds above, so my roof panels won't be running at full power!

Here's a quote: `While the Government is hailing subsidy-free projects like Clayhill, most experts have warned of the need to be cautious. It doesn’t meant that the solar industry is up and running on its own two feet yet – that may well come. For the moment, it’s a case of so far so good but we shouldn’t get carried away.'
It comes from this web site: LINK

[LizG]

Thank you for that. It was as we thought. It seems ridiculous to us that in Aus we get next to no subsidy for installing solar. We are paid 11 cents per kWh for what we put back into the grid but we pay up to 30cents per kWh to buy power. Very few wind farms and no solar farms.

[Stanley]

Liz.... Margaret and Mick in Perth have put solar panels up and they say they are working well and earning their keep especially in summer with the AC on.

[LizG]

Stanley, we also have solar panels & it makes a big difference to our bill too. When we installed it there were incentives & we got 35 cents per kWh to put energy back into the grid. Now the incentives are gone & we only get 11 cents per kWh. Still worthwhile but no where near as good.

We were impressed with the solar farms we saw in Cornwall. We have nothing like that at home but we have lots of sun and I would have thought it a viable option.

[Stanley]

I agree, seems like a no-brainer!

[Tizer]

Here are a couple of UK-based web sites on commercial solar farms, Liz.
Solar Trade Association
A solar panel company

[Pluggy]

Nowadays Solar gets next to no subsidy here either. But its getting to the point that they can pay their way without subsidies just exporting what they produce at something like £0.04 per kWh. But many earlier built installations are stil getting the high indexed linked rates we had. Our government hasn't reduced FIT payments for preinstalled systems. I suppose it kind of depends how long the solar farms have been there. Cornwall was the most lucrative area of the UK to install solar because it gets more sun than any other area in the UK. In pure terms, it deosn't make much sense as we have a very small A/C load, countries that use a lot of A/C make a lot more sense as they are using the most power when the sun is shining. The UK uses most poser in the early evening in the winter peak solar generation is around midday on sunny days in summer. It should make a lot more sense to install it without FITS in Australia. Politics ?

[Tizer]

More on energy storage...
`How your smart home could generate, store and sell energy' LINK

[LizG]

Sorry the Internet access has been crap. We've spent the last 2 weeks in Cornwall & now we're back in Aus. I'm doing a catchup. Thank you for all this info.

[Tizer]

This is a technology centre rather than another power station...
`£40m nuclear facility project for Wales announced' LINK

[Stanley]

THIS report puts more flesh on the story Tiz. I am all in favour of this research into the smaller 'modular reactors' as all the current advice is that this is the way to go rather than the mega stations we are committed to now based on old technology. Only question now is how hard they press to forward these schemes.....
I still think we should bite the bullet and reject Hinkley. The penalty payments would be eye watering but against this we have to put the ongoing costs and any problems that emerge.

[Tizer]

Might as well do a U-turn on Hinckley and Brexit at the same time, both would cause enormous trouble!

[Stanley]

Agreed. How are the solar panels doing in this ideal weather?

[Tizer]

Very well, thank you. we're getting 26 to 28 kWh per day in all this sunshine. Have you sen that the tidal lagoon scheme for Cardiff has been rejected? Too expensive, they say.

[Stanley]

Good on the solar panels! Yes I saw that the lagoon project has been rejected. I was all in favour when I first saw the proposals but from evidence dug up by PE the scheme is nowhere near as attractive as it looked at first for a variety of reasons. On cost alone it is a non-starter as the leccy would be more expensive than Hinkley.......

[Tizer]

We won't generate much leccy today. The sky is overcast and we might see a thunderstorm later and, if we're lucky, a bit of rain, the first for weeks. I wouldn't want to be further west today and especially not sailing in the Bristol Channel or off Cornwall - the forecast shows some awful weather there. I notice a girl had to be rescued from below a cliff near Exmouth on Friday evening, she'd broken her back, poor lass. Said to have been sitting with friends `on the edge of the cliff'. There seems to have been a craze recently with youngsters taking extreme risks on cliff tops.

[Stanley]

I forgot to ask you about rain Tiz, I saw the forecast for the SW and thought about you. No signs of any respite here.....
Kids and 'white knuckle'..... I watch some of the antics on Youtube and wonder about their sanity! I think they believe life is the same as video games, the hero just gets up and walks away..... Four young people killed in a car crash at Horsforth at three in the morning earlier this week and the police put it down to speed. Same syndrome......

[Tizer]

We had a heavy and lengthy downpour late in the day which was very welcome and the temperature dropped to 19C but we've a forecast of back to 29C today although the sky is still cloudy. We only made about 8kWh yesterday compared with about 27 on other recent days. The curve on the generation graph has flattened out now and will start falling soon. We've made 1950kWh so far this year, much more than we consume so we're making our contribution to the grid (and will be paid for what we export, of course).

[Stanley]

Good, nice to see some payback! Pluggy should be doing well......

[Tizer]

You can tell by looking at his live energy data graphs here: Pluggy's data

[Stanley]

I got another notification of an energy bill this morning but haven't opened it yet. I couldn't understand the last one! The only good thing is that the monthly notification and payment 14 days later seems to be working.
Later...,. Once again the BG bill is 'temporarily not available'..... Great!

[Stanley]

The bill was accessible this morning. I am completely baffled, last payment was £4, obviously too low, and this month's is £40 which seems high. Perhaps I should be patient and see how it all settles down.......