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Top-level
 "Here in Scotland we can already produce 140% of electricity by renewables" Schleswig-Holstein, where I was born, similarly. Wind + Solar = literally energy too cheap to meter. The Netherlands, where I live, will be overprovisioned 2x or more by 2030 (that is around 21 GW of max power demand vs. > 21 GW of solar AND > 21 GW of wind). The next game is batteries for households and vehicle-to-grid in the 5-11 kW range (most existing cars taht do this do 2.2-3 kW) 9 comments
Watermanagement is very much NOT privatized in the Netherlands, and the structures that build dikes and manage water are older than any government and exist outside of the government and private industry. That is because 2/3 of the country are below sea level and without structures for water management, neither government nor private industry would even exist. Water is still metered (and that makes a lot of sense in many ways matter for NL geography and geology) @isotopp @vladh I moved from England to Scotland and the difference is night and day. England genuinely thinks that they get a better service in terms of customer care. Down south there was a leak in the street for about a month before it was dealt with. Here we had a leak and scottish water were here in 20 mins. In the Highlands. Its 15 mins one way to go and get a pint of milk. Can't fault them. @isotopp @vladh I grew up in an area of the UK very like the Netherlands and you are right we need individualised approaches. However we also need better international cooperation. Countries like Scotland that have ample ability for schemes like Ben Cruachan should be part of a network so that areas such as the Netherlands can use 'scottish" electricity at peak times. Better resilience all round. Global problems require global solutions "such as the Netherlands can use 'scottish" electricity at peak times." https://app.electricitymaps.com/zone/NL Electricity maps is very nuclear centric, but the visualization is still useful. The EU is one grid, and countries regularly export and import energy dynamically. That keeps power prices low across all of the EU. Even GB is still part of that grid. @isotopp @vladh I'm not sure batteries in the conventional sense are the answer. Huge issues with mining the resources, lifespan and recycling. However there are other options on a bigger scale. Ideas like Ben Cruachan near Oban is in essence a huge battery. Pump after uphill when there is surplus electricity and let it flow downhill when there is high demand. No nasty lithium and its water based so infinitely recyclable with a long lifespan. They totally are. Around 5-10 kWh LFP per household that has solar, as a rough estimate the smaller of your daily usage after conversion to heat pumpt and electric car and the average solar yield in March or October. If you allow grid charging for the battery, double the size to 20 kWh LFP. https://www.zonneplan.nl/thuisbatterij (And the geography that enables Oban does not scale, otherwise it would win) |
Gregory's Server
@ScotInTraining @vladh
"Why not make electricity free like water, ie included in council tax."
Water is metered where I live, but yes.
Flatrates for power (You pay a base rate, or tax, it does not matter much) for the first 5 MWh/year are totally a thing that will be coming.
The money is not for the energy, which is free, but for the reliabilty, which comes from having a grid and flexibility and energy storage in batteries.