0 Members and 3 Guests are viewing this topic.
Fascinating factoid. Swiss inflation is currently running at only 2.5%!How come there is a Central European state with such low inflation while all around inflation is running hot?Possibly because only 1% of the Swiss energy mix is gas/oil. The vast majority of it is hydroelectric and nuclear.There is a lesson to be learned there.
Quote from: River Don on July 26, 2022, 08:34:40 amFascinating factoid. Swiss inflation is currently running at only 2.5%!How come there is a Central European state with such low inflation while all around inflation is running hot?Possibly because only 1% of the Swiss energy mix is gas/oil. The vast majority of it is hydroelectric and nuclear.There is a lesson to be learned there.I’ve often wondered why we don’t use more hydroelectric in the uk. Look at all the reservoirs and dams in Derbyshire for instance. My sister lives near Ladybower. That Ladybower and Derwent dams could generate some serious leccy. Especially in winter when they are often full and overflowing down the plug holes. Wasted potential. On a massive scale.
And I keep banging on about this but we are an island - why dont we use more tidal energy?
Because they cost a fair amount of money for not enough return. Until they're made more efficient it's unlikely you'll see the investment. I'd still suggest nuclear is the answer but it doesn't seem to get the traction.
Why don't all these big warehouses have solar panels on the roof?
Quote from: Belle_Vue on July 27, 2022, 12:24:51 pmWhy don't all these big warehouses have solar panels on the roof?That is a very good question. If solar is so efficient why doesn't business readily utilise it on warehouse roofs?I think the answer is intermitancy and the cost of storing the energy solar can produce.
Quote from: River Don on July 28, 2022, 09:30:56 pmQuote from: Belle_Vue on July 27, 2022, 12:24:51 pmWhy don't all these big warehouses have solar panels on the roof?That is a very good question. If solar is so efficient why doesn't business readily utilise it on warehouse roofs?I think the answer is intermitancy and the cost of storing the energy solar can produce.Not sure it's the storage cost so much as the cost of cabling to transmit it to the grid? A good sized warehouse with a roof covered in solar panels could produce 0.5 MW of power and I guess the transmission of that isn't trivial. Just a guess as I'm far from expert on this and RTR would surely know better.Certainly it's not the weight of the panels that is a restricting factor. They weigh maybe 5-10% of the weight that has to be factored in for normal industrial roof design. And with flat roofs, a critical load case is often wind causing suction tending to lift the roof up, so, counter-intuitively, a bit of permanent extra weight can often be a benefit. Whatever the reason, I suspect the market will kick in now that electricity prices to the consumer have gone up from less than 20p/kWh to more like 40-50p. That's going to make solar panels a no-brainer in many cases.
BST, thinking about what you have just said takes me back to the Blair years, with Brown as chancellor, how he was going to banish boom and bust, i remember talk of repairing the roof in summer for when the going gets rough in winter(words to that effect) and what did Broon do, he neglected to use the surplus to bring down the national debt, when it all kicked off a few years later guess who were left with their pants around their ankles and not a good position to deal with the situation.Spring forward to your left wing way of dealing with the current issue, can we see where the wind will blow?[/quoQuote from: danumdon on July 29, 2022, 11:08:37 pmBST, thinking about what you have just said takes me back to the Blair years, with Brown as chancellor, how he was going to banish boom and bust, i remember talk of repairing the roof in summer for when the going gets rough in winter(words to that effect) and what did Broon do, he neglected to use the surplus to bring down the national debt, when it all kicked off a few years later guess who were left with their pants around their ankles and not a good position to deal with the situation.Spring forward to your left wing way of dealing with the current issue, can we see where the wind will blow?Christ I give up.The national debt under Blair and Brown before the GFC f**ked the national finances of every major country was lower in EVERY years than it was in all but 3 years of the 18 that Thatcher and Major were in power.Under Blair and Brown, the debt when the GFC struck was lower than it had been when they came to power. It had been lower for every one of the previous 10 years. And more importantly...what the f**k has any of that got to do with what we are talking about here?
BST, thinking about what you have just said takes me back to the Blair years, with Brown as chancellor, how he was going to banish boom and bust, i remember talk of repairing the roof in summer for when the going gets rough in winter(words to that effect) and what did Broon do, he neglected to use the surplus to bring down the national debt, when it all kicked off a few years later guess who were left with their pants around their ankles and not a good position to deal with the situation.Spring forward to your left wing way of dealing with the current issue, can we see where the wind will blow?