My contribution to renewable energy discussion (Chris Davies MEP) on LibDem Voice:-
Why does no-one mention hydroelectricity these days? Look at the success
of Kielder Reservoir – and it also provides leisure facilities and a
soulution to drought. According to US Dept of Energy figures, (Wikipedia
– cost of energy by sources), average dollars per M/Wh, hydro costs
89.9, onshore wind 96.8, offshore wind 330.6(!) solar 156.9 and biomass
120.2. Wave power is estimated at 611(!!). So hydro really is the way to
go, for renewable energy. Regretfully, critics who aren’t interested in
pollution problems would point out that most conventional power sources
are cheaper than this, particularly gas.
It was suggested that (a) Hydro was not the best resource for Britain, space wise/availability of water with a sufficient fall in gradient, and (b) hydro in the Amazon was associated with significant methane outgassing.
My reply:-
Showing posts with label electricity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label electricity. Show all posts
Saturday, 18 August 2012
Sunday, 17 June 2012
Hydroelectric Power
In my first career, I was a qualified Geologist, before psychology took over my life. I keep seeing lots of media coverage of Wind Power and it's wonders, despite the fact that it's an expensive means of power generation, and I've also seen articles decrying Wave power as unsustainable without spending millions developing the technology. No-one I've seen has spent time praising the benefits of hydroelectric power. Basically, you need water and preferably a change in gradient, either from a dam or from water falling downhill in mountainous areas. Pardon me, but mountains and water are a huge potential resource in western parts of the British Isles. And what about Kielder Water?
How much does our power cost?
Here are some facts from Wikipedia on the cost of power generation:-
Where does our power come from?
In the UK - By 2004, total electricity production stood at 382.7 TWh (up 23.7% compared to 309.4 TWh in 1990), generated from the following sources:_
The Scottish Executive has quoted a target of generating 17% to 18% of Scotland's electricity from renewables by 2010, rising to 40% by 2020. Apparently, this is mainly wind based. However, again from Wikipedia - the 100 MW Glen Doe project, currently under construction and Scotland's largest civil engineering project, is the first large scale scheme in Scotland for almost fifty years but is likely to be one of the last of its kind.
To put this in context: -
Scotland has 85% of the UK's hydro-electric energy resource,[25] much of it developed by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board in the 1950s. The "Hydro Board", which brought "power from the glens", was a nationalised industry at the time although it was privatised in 1989 and is now part of Scottish and Southern Energy plc.At the end of 2011, there was 4,796 megawatts (MW) of installed renewables electricity capacity in Scotland, (1330 Mw from Hydroelectricity), an increase of 9.5 per cent (416 MW) on the end of 2010.
My research was hampered by the lack of recent figures for many of these technologies - for instance, will the cost of wind power go down as more wind turbines are activated? However, it is apparent that:-
How much does our power cost?
Here are some facts from Wikipedia on the cost of power generation:-
| Technology | Cost (€/MWh) |
|---|---|
| Hydro power | 20 |
| Nuclear | 50 |
| Natural gas turbines without CO2 capture | 61 |
| Onshore wind | 69 |
| Solar farms | 293 |
Germany - The following figures arise for the costs of electricity production in newly constructed power plants in 2010
Energy source
|
Costs of electricity production in euros per megawatt hour
|
Hydropower
|
34.7 – 126.7
|
Nuclear Energy
|
107.0 – 124.0
|
Domestic Gas
|
106.0 – 118.0
|
Black Coal
|
104.0 – 107.0
|
Wind Energy Onshore
|
49.7 – 96.1
|
Wind Energy Offshore
|
35.0 – 150.0
|
Solar Electricity
|
284.3 – 391.4
|
Where does our power come from?
In the UK - By 2004, total electricity production stood at 382.7 TWh (up 23.7% compared to 309.4 TWh in 1990), generated from the following sources:_
- gas – 39.93% (0.05% in 1990)
- coal – 33.08% (67.22% in 1990)
- nuclear – 19.26% (18.97% in 1990)
- renewables – 3.55% (0% in 1990)
- hydroelectric – 1.10% (2.55% in 1990) - going down!
- imports – 1.96% (3.85% in 1990)
- oil – 1.12% (6.82% in 1990)
The Scottish Executive has quoted a target of generating 17% to 18% of Scotland's electricity from renewables by 2010, rising to 40% by 2020. Apparently, this is mainly wind based. However, again from Wikipedia - the 100 MW Glen Doe project, currently under construction and Scotland's largest civil engineering project, is the first large scale scheme in Scotland for almost fifty years but is likely to be one of the last of its kind.
To put this in context: -
Scotland has 85% of the UK's hydro-electric energy resource,[25] much of it developed by the North of Scotland Hydro-Electric Board in the 1950s. The "Hydro Board", which brought "power from the glens", was a nationalised industry at the time although it was privatised in 1989 and is now part of Scottish and Southern Energy plc.At the end of 2011, there was 4,796 megawatts (MW) of installed renewables electricity capacity in Scotland, (1330 Mw from Hydroelectricity), an increase of 9.5 per cent (416 MW) on the end of 2010.
My research was hampered by the lack of recent figures for many of these technologies - for instance, will the cost of wind power go down as more wind turbines are activated? However, it is apparent that:-
- We are not investing in this area
- It is comparatively cheap compared to other energy sources
- Construction of reservoirs/power plants would bring jobs
- We need more water storage facilities - an extra bonus, as are the leisure facilities this could provide.
- It's green and clean and doesn't produce carbon dioxide
- If Scotland can construct hydro, why can't we?
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The amount of decaying vegetation generating gases in a biomass generator like the Amazon Basin is far in excess of somewhere like Scotland – and even the writer acknowledges the results are far less consequence in colder climates.
Methane would be produced by rotting vegetation whether it fell into the water or not – soil and agriculture produce about half of the world’s methane, and one of the biggest sources is rice fields.
http://horizon.documentation.ird.fr/exl-doc/pleins_textes/pleins_textes_7/b_fdi_57-58/010025232.pdf
There have been proposals for extracting the methane dams generate .
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6638705.stm
There seems to be an assumption that all hydroelectric power needs big dams – certainly they’re useful, but homes near water can have a waterwheel to generate electricity just as easily as having their own wind turbine.
http://www.off-grid.net/2010/11/19/power-a-house-using-a-waterwheel/
There’s a great page on the pro/con debate for hydroelectricity on
http://debatepedia.idebate.org/en/index.php/Debate:_Hydroelectric_dams
Yes I know I'm obsessed with Hydro, but we need lots of different renewable energy sources to mitigate the end of fossil fuel pollutants. More investment in infrastructure! Now please!