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Record wind and solar saved UK from gas imports worth £1B in March 2026

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Re: Record wind and solar saved UK from gas imports worth £1B in March 2026

#131

Post by adrianN »

heyitsmedotjayb wrote: post #89
ZeroGravitas wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have no idea what you are talking about. I'm open to the idea that oil and gas are protected and subsidized in many different ways. Accurate information on how much more they costs than renewables I don't see the link. Accurate prices are good. Actions that stop the market acting on the accurate prices are bad.

Why would anyone address the additional challenges and reliability concerns of renewables, when oil can be purchased for the same price? What kind of incentive does that set up?

It is unclear to me what that has to do with the way we price electricity.

Re: Record wind and solar saved UK from gas imports worth £1B in March 2026

#132

Post by adrianN »

martinald wrote: post #120
jmyeet wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The UK's grid upgrades are a mix of the shift to renewables but also to handle anticipated increased demand, which will be needed regardless of the electricity source or location. I don't know what the mix is however. > Not true, HPCs 'agreement' is for 35 years. After that they just get the market price, so it is not based on the 60 year lifespan per se. Isn't this conceding the point that costs are going to go way…

UK peak power demand has _reduced_ by 15GW in the past 20ish years. Obviously there is some investment needed but if you take a look at the capex cost of the north Scottish grid upgrades PLUS the HVDCs it's pretty terrifying. The idea is that the financing will be "paid off" after 35 years so it doesn't require a "guaranteed" price after that (it reduces finance costs significantly when HMG is underwriting the main p…

Peak electricity demand will go up quite a bit as we replace fossil fuels for transportation and heating.

Re: Record wind and solar saved UK from gas imports worth £1B in March 2026

#133

Post by edent »

modo_mario wrote: post #126
edent wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It is commercially viable. A UK energy company already has a Vehicle to Grid tariff. https://octopus.energy/power-pack/ See also https://www.ofgem.gov.uk/publications/case-study-uk-electric...

>A UK energy company already has a Vehicle to Grid tariff. And is that actually worth it to anyone who does the math? An optimistic 161 pound saving compares to how many of my battery cycles for example? My car costs 50-60k so battery degradation is not nothing.

Yes.

The arbitrage difference between filling your battery cheaply and discharging when prices are high is greater than any theoretical wear on your battery.

Even better if you are being paid to charge your battery.

Re: Record wind and solar saved UK from gas imports worth £1B in March 2026

#134

Post by jl6 »

adrianN wrote: post #130
jl6 wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Electricity prices in the UK are painful, and galling when set by the price of gas, but it’s worth remembering that this model and all this expense has bought a major asset that will only become more important and strategic. The next milestones to hit are: * A 10x increase in generation capacity * A 100x increase in storage capacity * A 1000x increase in seasonal storage capacity * Electrification of heating * Electr…

How do you make money with a nuclear power plant when renewables deliver more than enough power 95% of the year?

Nuclear power buys you not just electricity, but also resilience and diversity. Even if it’s much more expensive, it can still be worth it.

Re: Record wind and solar saved UK from gas imports worth £1B in March 2026

#135

Post by adrianN »

jl6 wrote: post #134
adrianN wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you make money with a nuclear power plant when renewables deliver more than enough power 95% of the year?

Nuclear power buys you not just electricity, but also resilience and diversity. Even if it’s much more expensive, it can still be worth it.

Resilience against what though?

Re: Record wind and solar saved UK from gas imports worth £1B in March 2026

#136

Post by endymi0n »

OneDonOne wrote: post #119
endymi0n wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nuclear fans are heavily underestimating the cost of that energy source. The levelized cost of energy per kWh today is TRIPLE that of solar already, at a negative learning curve, with a gap only widening (and accelerating so). For the very same cost per kWh, you can get double overprovisioned solar PLUS battery storage at 90% capacity factor, TODAY. All of that fully decentralized, within the next years instead of de…

The LCOE may be triple, but the LFSCOE [0] (full system cost, not just cost of generation) however of solar, is triple that of nuclear in Texas, and 15x that in Germany. Notice that 1. Solar Irradiance per location is actually taken into consideration and 2. Renewables have not stopped the ongoing deindustrialization of Germany due to high energy costs. [0] (PDF) https://iaee2021online.org/download/contribution/fullp…

That benchmark is as outdated as completely unrealistic, as if invented by the oil/nuclear industry. Obviously 100% pure solar generation will be completely unfeasable in a place as Germany, but that completely misses the point that a realistic combo of solar/wind/biomass has a FAR higher combined capacity factor than solar alone.

Also, it's based on 2021 (or before) storage cost figures, which have halved in the meantime. https://assets.bbhub.io/professional/sites/44/LCOE-11.png

I call BS.

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