Solar Panels shine on a record 8.75 gigawatts

[Geoffrey Settle]

U.K. Breaks Solar Power Record on Hottest Day of the Year so far.

Yesterday was hot but who would have expected the solar panels in the UK to generate record amounts of energy - if only we could improve the storage of renewable energy?

"U.K. solar power output rose to a record 8.75 gigawatts at 1 p.m. London time, according to data compiled by National Grid Plc and Sheffield University. That satisfied 24 percent of electricity demand and broke the previous record of 8.49 gigawatts reached earlier this month...... read on click below

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/uk-breaks-solar-power-record-on-hottest-day-of-the-year/ar-BBBz0G7?li=AAmiR2Z&ocid=spartandhp

 

[asperity]

Have you got a new job as PR man for the Solar Power Industry Geoff?

What the article doesn't mention is the fact that solar power needs conventional generation on running standby all the time. Smoke and mirrors doesn't come near.

[observer]

Eggs and one basket springs to mind   

[Evil Sid]

so will we see a 20% drop in our electric bills for that?

Of course we won't.  Can't have the freeish energy cutting into the profits can we.

[Geoffrey Settle]

6 hours ago, asperity said:

Have you got a new job as PR man for the Solar Power Industry Geoff?

What the article doesn't mention is the fact that solar power needs conventional generation on running standby all the time. Smoke and mirrors doesn't come near.

It's like conversing with people from the dark ages.

[asperity]

Really Geoff? So do you really thing that paying people to cover their land with solar panels that produce expensive electricity, and using taxpayers money to do it, while at the same time having to run conventional generation in tandem in case the sun goes in is modern thinking? And there was me thinking you had socialist ideals!

[Geoffrey Settle]

Sounds like you feel you missed out on the subsidies on offer. They were put in place to encourage the use of renewable energy and reduction in the carbon footprint. Warrington's social housing benefitted from this scheme by placing solar panels on Warrington roves. The renewable energy finance model drawn up by WBC illustrated that even in the first year which was cloudier than average there was a good return. I remember reporting this to other councils at the energy meetings I used to attend as energy rep councillor and they all said that they wished that they had done the same. This was at the time that the proposal to reduce the levy was being put forward by the government. 

Like a lot of new technologies they sometimes need a helping hand so that industry will invest as economies of scale are realised and then subsidies will be reduced (as proposed by the current government in 2015) or no longer required.

I imagine that the idea was to get British companies to grew and develop, provide jobs and income, be less reliant on fossil fuels and thereby reduce the amount of CO2 spewed into the atmosphere. 

[observer]

Interesting prog on CH19 (Dino weekend);  all about the strange and variable creatures that have roamed this planet in the distant past.  Most becoming extinct due to climate change - tell them it was man made.    

[asperity]

19 minutes ago, Geoffrey Settle said:

 thereby reduce the amount of CO2 spewed into the atmosphere. 

Note the emotive language ("spewed"). CO2 is plant food not poison. In fact we could not survive without it, and actually we are at a CO2 low period historically, and when I say historically I'm talking about more than the last couple of thousand years. The earth has been here for a very long time, and judging climate on the evidence of such a short period is crackers.

Now if you want to talk about toxic substances, take a look at the manufacturing processes for solar cells and wind power turbines, that may shock you!

[Geoffrey Settle]

CO2 is a gas as you well know - climate changes have occurred since the year dot but have been over very long cycles of time but never as dramatic as those caused by man.

[Geoffrey Settle]

6 hours ago, observer said:

Interesting prog on CH19 (Dino weekend);  all about the strange and variable creatures that have roamed this planet in the distant past.  Most becoming extinct due to climate change - tell them it was man made.    

It wasn't - think you might find that that was either by a meteor or the earth's natural climatic cycle that alternates between the ice ages and droughts. 

[Evil Sid]

So back to solar panels. Am I naive to think that all new council building projects will now be designed with solar panels on the roof?

The new market and temporary market springs to mind as well as the new council offices.

Also will all currently owned council owned properties have them retro-fitted as well. GGH offices, community hubs and the like. then there is the new multi storey carpark. and extra roof on that of solar panels would be a bonus.

Even if they only produced enough to power the lights for a week that would surely be a saving.

[asperity]

6 hours ago, Geoffrey Settle said:

CO2 is a gas as you well know - climate changes have occurred since the year dot but have been over very long cycles of time but never as dramatic as those caused by man.

Absolute nonsense. For all the recent scare mongering, nobody has come up with any proof that man has changed the climate in any discernable way. When climate is studied over very long periods it has been shown that atmospheric CO2 increases after rising global temperatures i.e. global warming causes rising CO2 not the other way around.

Back to the drawing board Geoff.

[Geoffrey Settle]

And the moon is made of Cheese - really

I think you need to extend your academic research and stop reading the Sun.

[asperity]

I think it's obvious that I've done a lot more research than you Geoff, hence your nonsensical scaremongering. As for reading the Sun, now you're just being needlessly insulting!

[Geoffrey Settle]

Nothing is obvious Asp - just opinions and speculation and debate

[observer]

 

9 hours ago, Geoffrey Settle said:

It wasn't - think you might find that that was either by a meteor or the earth's natural climatic cycle that alternates between the ice ages and droughts. 

So climatic change is "natural" ?

[Geoffrey Settle]

It used to be but is now topped up by the impact of man, largely burning fossil fuels and cows farting.

[asperity]

So dinosaurs didn't fart Geoff? You can't pick and choose between what to consider "natural" and "man-made" climate change to suit your narrative.

[Geoffrey Settle]

Yes I can BOTH are working in conjunction - is that too hard to understand?

[observer]

The burning of fossil fuels releases CO2 in the atmosphere, plants breath in CO2 and give out Oxygen - what's the problem ?   The biggest threat to the planet is over population by humans leading to over consumption of natural resources and mountains of non-biodegradable waste - so what do the tree huggers propose to do about that ?  As for "climate change"; ice ages occur periodically due to the Earth's distance from the sun, and the arrogant assumption that mankind is somehow immune from such events is wishfull thinking.

[Geoffrey Settle]

It's a mix of all of those and man is but a bit player with a relatively short expiry date unless he finds another planet.

[observer]

Make your mind up Geoff; you were saying man is the cause, and now he's a "bit player".  

[Geoffrey Settle]

With regard to the eventual end scenario  - there is going to be a massive cock up whatever is causing global warming so get your sun block out and learn to swim.

[asperity]

Global warming is not occurring outside of natural variability, so get your sun block out if you're off on holiday to the Med. I presume your "learn to swim" bit is referring to sea level rise, and again this is not the scare that you are trying to push. The sea level has been rising at a steady rate since the end of the last ice age and the rate is not increasing. Perhaps you should, as Obs suggests, direct your efforts towards real world problems we can do something about.