Starmer's vision quest

[Pross]

You don't know much about this or how to use Google do you.

Green hydrogen is produced via electrolysis. It's not very efficient compared to using the electricity directly, but this isn't a problem if there is an excess of green energy available. For large-scale production, there isn't, so it's a problem. However potentially less of a problem for some applications than fossil fuel use.

Blue hydrogen is produced by steam reforming fossil fuels, combined with CCS - with the CCS part being Ed Bendytoy's pet project. I personally think it is a technological dead end.

In neither case is hydrogen "split".

Saudi Arabia is busy using its oil wealth to build commercial scale green hydrogen using all that solar energy from those thousands of square miles of desert to corner the future market whilst the US regresses more and more to its dependence on fossil fuels. If only the US had examples of previous great powers falling by the wayside by sittings on the laurels and assuming they would remain powerful. Unfortunately the UK will probably be dependent on the likes of Saudi in future decades which would be far from ideal.

 

[First Aspect]

Saudi Arabia is busy using its oil wealth to build commercial scale green hydrogen using all that solar energy from those thousands of square miles of desert to corner the future market whilst the US regresses more and more to its dependence on fossil fuels. If only the US had examples of previous great powers falling by the wayside by sittings on the laurels and assuming they would remain powerful. Unfortunately the UK will probably be dependent on the likes of Saudi in future decades which would be far from ideal.

I think Ed Bendytoy is right about is that the UK is in a privileged position as regards renewables capacity. It is very windy, we have lots of coastline and large tides. Wind, wave and tidal generation are all good options.

 

[Pross]

I think Ed Bendytoy is right about is that the UK is in a privileged position as regards renewables capacity. It is very windy, we have lots of coastline and large tides. Wind, wave and tidal generation are all good options.

But Nige is going to do away with that woke nonsense and reopen the mines. Hooray! Around these parts we currently have groups objecting to a wind farm and a solar farm. I sort of understand the objections to a wind farm on top of a mountain (but don't share them) but the solar farm is on low grade, steeply sloping grazing land that hardly anyone with an objection placard outside their house will even be able to see. I can only assume these people didn't live in the area prior to the 90s when the views that are 'being ruined' were coal tips, the river was usually running brown or orange and coal dust covered everything (not to mention all the smoke from the actual burning of the coal). I do feel we continue to waste the tidal energy potential at present but hopefully new technologies will come along to make that more cost-effective.

 

[icowden]

But Nige is going to do away with that woke nonsense and reopen the mines. Hooray! Around these parts we currently have groups objecting to a wind farm and a solar farm. I sort of understand the objections to a wind farm on top of a mountain (but don't share them) but the solar farm is on low grade, steeply sloping grazing land that hardly anyone with an objection placard outside their house will even be able to see. I can only assume these people didn't live in the area prior to the 90s when the views that are 'being ruined' were coal tips, the river was usually running brown or orange and coal dust covered everything (not to mention all the smoke from the actual burning of the coal). I do feel we continue to waste the tidal energy potential at present but hopefully new technologies will come along to make that more cost-effective.

I feel like there is a lot of scope for solar farms. In theory the tops of all flat topped buildings could be covered with panels, from multistorey car parks, to flat blocks etc. This is the town centre of Walton on Thames. Pretty much all of the complex on the right hand side of Sainsbury could be covered with panels. and the top floor of Sainsbury / Heart Carpark could be covered with panels elevated above the parking spaces. That would provide a huge amount of the power needed for the whole of the centre of Walton.

 

[First Aspect]

Why just flat topped roofs?

 

[CXRAndy]

You don't know much about this or how to use Google do you.

Green hydrogen is produced via electrolysis. It's not very efficient compared to using the electricity directly, but this isn't a problem if there is an excess of green energy available. For large-scale production, there isn't, so it's a problem. However potentially less of a problem for some applications than fossil fuel use.

Blue hydrogen is produced by steam reforming fossil fuels, combined with CCS - with the CCS part being Ed Bendytoy's pet project. I personally think it is a technological dead end.

In neither case is hydrogen "split".

I know green hydrogen is produced from electrolysis.

A highly expensive process, around 50kWatts of energy to produce one kg of liquid hydrogen.

95%of current hydrogen is formed from SMR, using fossil fuels. Hardly carbon friendly. The carbon capture aspect is pointless hype.

 

[Bazzer]

.... I can only assume these people didn't live in the area prior to the 90s when the views that are 'being ruined' were coal tips, the river was usually running brown or orange and coal dust covered everything (not to mention all the smoke from the actual burning of the coal). ..

There is also possibly some element of what you get used to. The (lack of) jobs issue to one side, I would imagine that if in the late 1980's people in the area were offered remediated spoil heaps with solar panels and/or wind farms and no coal dust as an alternative to the mining industry, this may have been seen as a visually more attractive alternative at the time.

 

[icowden]

Why just flat topped roofs?

As a starting point? Because they are much easier and cheaper to mount panels on, especially for tall buildings.

 

[PurplePenguin]

I feel like there is a lot of scope for solar farms. In theory the tops of all flat topped buildings could be covered with panels, from multistorey car parks, to flat blocks etc. This is the town centre of Walton on Thames. Pretty much all of the complex on the right hand side of Sainsbury could be covered with panels. and the top floor of Sainsbury / Heart Carpark could be covered with panels elevated above the parking spaces. That would provide a huge amount of the power needed for the whole of the centre of Walton.

View attachment 11422

Germany has a lot of rooftop solar. The challenge is that roofs are quite small, so to be meaningful it requires a lot of roofs.

 

[C R]

Kind of the other way around. We need need it to accept the odd neutron and all our problems will be solved.

ITYM the odd proton, neutron capture by hydrogen gives deuterium, which is a relatively low energy process, and it is why water is used as a moderator.

 

[First Aspect]

ITYM the odd proton, neutron capture by hydrogen gives deuterium, which is a relatively low energy process, and it is why water is used as a moderator.

And occurs naturally. Must think before I type.

We used D2O routinely to make stuff with protons in only in selected places. Well, I didn't because I was a terrible wet chemist, but competent people did.

 

[Bromptonaut]

I assume 'Bendytoy' refers to Ed Miliband.

Jokes are funny once but constant repetition dulls the effect.

See Remoaner.

 

[briantrumpet]

Putting this reply to @Dorset Boy in a more appropriate thread:

Brian, the pound is significant;y down against the Euro since Starmer and Reeves came to power.
We were also heading to a normalisation of interest rates in late 2022, Truss or no Truss - if anyone thinks 2009 to 2022 were normal times for interest rates they're pretty dumb.
We now have historically normal interest rates

Pick your starting point. Doesn't (at least yet) look like panic.

 

[C R]

Putting this reply to @Dorset Boy in a more appropriate thread:



Pick your starting point. Doesn't (at least yet) look like panic.

View attachment 11424

View attachment 11425

You and your facts.

 

[CXRAndy]

View: https://x.com/TiceRichard/status/1996475271667462250?t=REcYXA41bqrIbihyUKZklg&s=19