Wind/ Solar Power

[The Horseman]

Just reading about the re- making of the buildings at Wick Harbour for The Wind Power Offices....
Denmark is among Countries who are phasing out Wind Power as it has become too expensive..apparently other Countries are finding the same thing.
In Canada, both Wind and Solar Power are on the chopping block as again the prices ar too high. In fact the long term prices are becoming a burden that will become unaffordable.
It would appear that no real investigation went into these alternative sources of energy, and greedy industrialists pushed ahead with promises of cost savings which looked good in the beginning, but had no basis in fact.
Another example....Computers were supposed to do away with paper copies....not so....there are more paper copies now than ever before.
I was looking to find how much the HIE put into the re furbishment of the new Control Offices etc in Wick.... any thoughts people?

[Neil Howie]

Denmark is among Countries who are phasing out Wind Power as it has become too expensive..

do you have a source? as a quick search suggests they are still on track to increase it, and from Bloomberg:

The comments come as the minister prepares to unveil a plan to put an end to Danish subsidies that have supported renewable energy in the country since the 1970s. He says such a framework is no longer necessary because wind power has proven its long-term capacity to compete on equal terms with fossil fuels, without state support. Lilleholt says it’s already cheaper to use wind than coal to generate electricity, based on estimated costs of creating a new facility.

[The Horseman]

Just read a new story a few days ago. The article did say that they were phasing out the subsidies as they were too expensive and this would make for increases in the 'finished product'.....i.e....electric power.
In Canada the Liberal Gov't is in trouble for quickly phasing out coal and guaranteeing too much for 'renewable energy'. They made 10 year guarantees a few years ago. This was after subsidizing the infrastructure......I do see the articles you mention.....I think the direction of this story was that the windmills and solar panels need to be renewed whereas coal didn't. The renewable energy need renewable infrastructure, the cost of which was not taken into consideration....

Quote......Jacob Peterson head of Equities at Sydbank in Denmark, a few days ago warned that it is too early for the Offshore wind farms to survive without Gov't subsidies, in fact he stated that he didn't even know if it would be profitable.
And that is why The Province of Ontario, Canada has cancelled some projects....
There are many opinions here, which have not seen these ideas through to fruition.

And harnessing all the surplus heat and moving it through the hot water pipes to heat individual homes.......seems we have heard that one before. Perhaps if done on a massive scale and properly thought out as they seem to have done in Denmark would help......The story I read was all rosy and the future was looked at with bright eyes.....There are great ideas many which involve renewable power, but nothing has been proven. The jury is out on these projects.....
BTW....I am not an engineer but what I think is, sometimes large companies pitch something that will make them huge profits with Gov't handouts/subsidized by the Gov't but when these subsidies have long gone, so are the Corporations.. The Politicians jump on this, through no fault of their own, as they are untrained in business......In Ontario the Gov't is being sued by the Wind Farms that were first approved and now are cancelled.
Just a thought......,We all have our thoughts.
Regards.....

[The Horseman]

FYI....apparently there is an article in the Groat this week. If you look at it on-line, at the very bottom you will see a comment from a GeorgeH stating that in May 2106 the Ministry of Energy stated that the Renewable Energy policy has become too expensive. They cannot afford it!

[Neil Howie]

FYI....apparently there is an article in the Groat this week. If you look at it on-line, at the very bottom you will see a comment from a GeorgeH stating that in May 2106 the Ministry of Energy stated that the Renewable Energy policy has become too expensive. They cannot afford it!

Thanks for that, I now know that the EU ruled in 2016 that the subsidies/tariffs were a form of unfair competition between the energy companies. So they had to get rid of them, and they offset that by scrapping the 5 planned offshore windfarms.

Yes I agree, it's a difficult matter whatever way you look at it. From the Chinese involvement of Hinckley or encroaching onshore wind farms, hopefully a solution can be found.

[The Horseman]

Yes, it is a difficult 'new road' to travel. In Canada we have a total of approx 20 Nuke Reactors, some of which are shutting down due to licensing regs. We also have several small ones at Universities and those that deal in isotopes.
Our Politicians ate tinkering with Solar and Wind, but not doing a good job of it.......mind you much of this 'new power' is trial and error. The thinking is that when the Gov't subsidies are gone, so will some of the conglomerates that are presently building and operating these Farms. So we shall see.....it is akin to the push for Battery Powered vehicles. The price of Petrol is half that of the UK, and we really don't have many diesel cars, in fact VW and Audi are not importing any more diesel vehicles into Canada, perhaps even America. Truck/lorries will retain Diesel engines.
It is a changing World with as I said. Trial and Error.
The only place that is certainly for EV's is California. They have undertaken very strict measures, even banning two stroke engines, years ago....mind you they have a population of 40 million, so they can do their own thing!
But now the Donald has arrived and he is changing things. He appointed the Anti green guy to the EP....Environmental Protection so who knows what will occur....And the Donald's Mother was from Lewis.....