Exit Polls

[Hill Walker]

Originally Posted by Hill Walker

Nobody in their right mind would consider a resource at 0.000005% availability as a recoverable asset. Recovery costs would probably be in excess of £100,000/litre.

Actually a quick calculation suggests the cost would be of the order of £1,600,000/litre and that assumes you have a market for all the liquid Nitrogen, Oxygen ... Neon etc you would produce allong the way. Its in the same ball park as considering recovering Gold from the Gold dust in the air.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I am pretty sure that over the years some clever folk have formulated fuels that are more environmentally friendly and the rich oil producing countries have got wind of it and put a stop to it.

We have a country that is surrounded by the sea...we have tides twice a day...regular as clockwork, but yet we blight our countryside with ugly inefficient wind turbines that blight the lives of those who live in the vicinty(a constant low hum, disrupted electrical signals etc).
Now I know that the job of engineering the mechanics to enable tidal power would present some difficulties...but surely these can be overcome knowing that this is truly environmentally friendly...and is a constant source of power....where wind turbines are not. The wind does not always blow...it does not always blow from the right direction and if it is too windy the damn things have to be turned off.
Very effective - NOT!

[Hill Walker]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I am pretty sure that over the years some clever folk have formulated fuels that are more environmentally friendly and the rich oil producing countries have got wind of it and put a stop to it.

We have a country that is surrounded by the sea...we have tides twice a day...regular as clockwork, but yet we blight our countryside with ugly inefficient wind turbines that blight the lives of those who live in the vicinty(a constant low hum, disrupted electrical signals etc).
Now I know that the job of engineering the mechanics to enable tidal power would present some difficulties...but surely these can be overcome knowing that this is truly environmentally friendly...and is a constant source of power....where wind turbines are not. The wind does not always blow...it does not always blow from the right direction and if it is too windy the damn things have to be turned off.
Very effective - NOT!

Margaret, you are quite right about extracting energy from the sea. It is a formidable engineering challenge and one that might have been a much better use of the £70B or so that is being spent on HS2. What is needed is a properly financed and directed research program extending over quite a few years, not the current situation where it is left to under-financed entropeneurs working on their own pet schemes. The big money is going into wind farms and the like simply because its an easy technology with safe returns.

In fact the whole energy situation is riddled with un-coordinated fads and fancies on a grand scale with lots of ridiculous undesirable side effects.

[st06nc2]

You can run cars on poo, and coffee and used fat, there is a lot of better possibilities than electric, at least with used fat your car will smell of chips or chicken as your driving

[Margaret Pilkington]

Yes, I understand it is easy technology with safe returns, but that is not the remit.
The remit is to produce environmentally friendly energy that is renewable...and of course it is not a bit of good if this energy is as unreliable as the wind.
I am of the opinion that the roll out of smart meters is just so that energy companies can terminate a supply remotely if the need should arise....like when the time comes that there is just not enough to go around.
I am also very incomfortable with the fact that our energy supplies lay in the hands of foreigners.
Our energy companies should always be in British hands.

[Margaret Pilkington]

If governments were really serious about renewable environmentally friendly energy sources then they would be having photovoltaic panels fitted to all new houses being built so that they could generate thier own electricty and any left over goes to the national grid....and those older houses that wanted to fit enegy panels would qualify for a grant to do this.
Anything over capacity generated would just go to the national grid(nothing paid to the owner of the house - if you got a grant to install the panels then this is your payback)
The cost of electricity might then fall and everyone would benefit.
Now, wouldn't that be great?

That is why I see this green agenda as being one big con...with the aim of taking money from our pockets for ridiculous schemes

[Hill Walker]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I am of the opinion that the roll out of smart meters is just so that energy companies can terminate a supply remotely if the need should arise....like when the time comes that there is just not enough to go around.
I am also very incomfortable with the fact that our energy supplies lay in the hands of foreigners.
Our energy companies should always be in British hands.

You are right to consider that there is a plan behind the smart meters but its not to simply switch you off when there is not enough to go round. Its a bit more subtle than that. Smart meters can be made to talk to your ‘smart’ appliances such as your fridge, washing machine, car, vacuum cleaner etc., so that your house can participle in the smoothing out of peak supply demands. For example your fridge could be switch off during the advert breaks in Coronation Street to compensate for the kettle you switched on to make a cuppa, ditto the charging circuit in your battery powered vacuum cleaner. More subtle is the things it can do with your electric car which contains a big battery. During times of very high demand power could be taken from your car and fed into the grid and (hopefully) put back later before you go out in it. This of course is true for all things which have a big battery. Ever wondered why solar panel setups contain a battery and the facility to put power into the grid, its not just for the convenience of the house holder! Thats the future, its not quite there yet but its moving in that direction and is very much the plan that certain people want to implement.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I do not have any appliances that use smart technology(and possibly never will have such items)....and I won't be having a smart meter either.
The smart meter is nothing to do with making improvements for the customer, but everything to do with benefits to the utility company.

As for the large batteries in the PV solar panels, I thought these were for storing electricty during times when there is little/no light(at night...though even street lights would provide a little bit of power).

As to my previous post. I know that the government had a system of grants for householders to fit solar panels....and that they would get something back for any electricty which went to the national grid....but in 2016(I think) the tariff for this feed in was cut by 84%.
This was later changed to 67%....so it meant that fewer people took up the offer.

If all homes that were suitable were offered grants...actively by mail shots.....but the terms and conditions were that no money was paid to the homeowner for the excess electricty produced...then surely those homes which were unsuitable for the scheme would benefit by a fall in the cost of their power.

Now I know that these panel are delicate and home insurers would probably make mileage on this so let's have the government sponsor the insurance for such homes.

It will never happen because the governments(of all persuasions) are not serious about clean energy.

[Hill Walker]

Margaret, don't think Britain, think Global. Britain isn't the best place for solar panels. I'm not saying they don't work just that in many other places, like say Italy or Florida they work much better. Any way its easier to 'persuade' people to buy electric cars. The real trick is to get lots of battries out there, it doesn't matter what they are in, all that matters is their storage. Get that storage and you don't have to build more big pump storage schemes like those in Scotland and Wales. Have a little look at the musings of Tesla's Elon Musk and his various companies press releases.

[Margaret Pilkington]

I guess it depends on the type of Solar panels.
you can generate power from any light...OK so the climate here is not the best but even on winter days there is still a level of light which would generate some power...and it would be as efficient as the current sources which are deemed clean.
I know a little about the work of Nikola Tesla...but I will look at what you suggested.

There is no doubt in my mind that there needs to be a wider consideration of option for producing energy....but I do not swallow the green agenda that we are being fed.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Ah...got it you were referring to the TESLA 3 electric vehicle, rather than the work of the genius Nikolas Tesla.

And i thought I had heard the name Elon Musk before...he was the guy who started PayPal (I think).

[cashman]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

There is no doubt in my mind that there needs to be a wider consideration of option for producing energy....but I do not swallow the green agenda that we are being fed.

I'm glad it aint just me that dont swallow that "Green" crap.

[Neil]

Originally Posted by st06nc2

You can run cars on poo, and coffee and used fat, there is a lot of better possibilities than electric, at least with used fat your car will smell of chips or chicken as your driving

Very small scale used fat is ok but not enough for us all to use. I ran my car of new vegetable oil for a few months several years ago. It was smoother and quieter at low revs with slightly less power at motorway speeds. We can't grow enough for that to be a viable solution either.

When they smell of chips it's not a nice smell

[Hill Walker]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I know a little about the work of Nikolas Tesla...but I will look at what you suggested.

Maybe a decendent involved or maybe just honouring the legacy, don't know. I've not come across any other people with that name.

[Hill Walker]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

There is no doubt in my mind that there needs to be a wider consideration of option for producing energy....but I do not swallow the green agenda that we are being fed.

You have never written (or spoken) a truer few words.