alister's blog

Scottish Electricicty Generation Mix 2006 - 201?Scotland generates its electricity from a variety of sources. The non-renewable sources of electricity generation in Scotland are nuclear, coal, oil and natural gas. In 2002, Scotland's total electricity generating capacity was 9.5 GW which was made up mostly by non-renewable generation with around 1.5 GW of hydro.

Scotland has 25% of the European wind resource, 25% of the European tidal resource and 10% of the European wave resource. Scotland has 0.6% of the European population. So, Scotland is a land staggeringly rich in the new renewable energy sources on a per capita basis. The switch to renewable electricity generation began after 2002 and the early stages of this transition are captured in the figure.

Electricity is an energy carrier, not a fuel source. It flows along wires transporting energy from a source (power station, wind turbine etc) to the destination where it is to be used.

Because electricity can be generated from such a range of sources and because electricity can transport energy without using oil, it is more resilient to the likely price shocks due to  peak oil and gas. Natural gas at distressed prices following an imminent oil peak (which will result in distressed oil prices) is exactly what Ian Marchant, CEO of Scottish and Southern Energy, is warning about in the video on this webpage  (starting at 2 minutes 12 seconds).

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Woodspring Priory, North SomersetHaving spent a day in Oban last week helping out moving Sanyo CO2 Eco air source heat pumps around, I thought it might be worth writing a short report on the job. But I've not got photographs yet, so that will have to wait for another day.

Instead, here's a report from that well known website R744.com about a Sanyo CO2 Eco air source heat pump installation down south.

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In 1911 Winston Churchill became First Lord of the Admiralty and instigated a fuel transition in the navy (where Welsh coal had been the principal fuel) to oil which offered many advantages including greater speed and range. Churchill commented:

"The oil supplies of the world were in the hands of vast oil trusts under foreign control. To commit the navy irrevocably to oil was indeed to take arms against a sea of troubles. If we overcame the difficulties and surmounted the risks, we should be able to raise the whole power and efficiency of the navy to a definitely higher level; better ships, better crews, higher economies, more intense forms of war power - in a word, mastery itself was the prize of the venture."

In 1913, UK coal production hit an all time peak and has been in decline ever since. We are nearly 100 years past peak coal production in the UK.

The exhaustion of the UK coal mines had been anticipated by William Stanley Jevons who, in 1866 wrote "The coal question: an inquiry concerning the progress of the nation, and the probable exhaustion of our coal mines" (available here). Jevons wrote:

"The expression "exhaustion of our coal mines," states the subject in the briefest form, but is sure to convey erroneous notions to those who do not reflect upon the long series of changes in our industrial condition which must result from the gradual deepening of our coal mines and the increased price of fuel. Many persons perhaps entertain a vague notion that some day our coal seams will be found emptied to the bottom, and swept clean like a coal-cellar."

 Today the general view is that there is plenty of coal elsewhere in the world - hundreds of years worth.

Well, not according to a growing number of recent reports.

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UK CO2 Emissions: BP Data 2010BP produce the annual Statistical Review of World Energy. This large database now includes information on carbon dioxide emissions.

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Natural gas is the most popular choice for cooking on a hob. But natural gas is a dwindling natural resource and won't be around in the same quantities and at the same cheap prices for too much longer.

We're all familiar with cooking on a conventional electric hob, but they tend to be rather frustrating to use.

Is there a better way?

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Oil PricesThere's a UK general election coming up in the next couple of months.

What can we expect in the next 5 years?

While politicians talk of cuts to come and agree they will be even move severe than those under Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, a group of industrialists and the Government's own former chief scientific adviser reveal a more fundamental problem that will severely compound our current financial crisis.

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Sanyo CO2 Eco Air Source Heat Pump: Outdoor unit

This video was taken in early January 2010 and shows a Sanyo CO2 Eco air source heat pump in operation.Read more

Scottish wind farm mapToday, The Scotsman newspaper reports on a paper submitted to the Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) Board that paints a very positive picture of the current and future status of renewable electricity generation capacity in Scotland.

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Matthew Simmons: ASPO Denver 2009 PresentationMatthew Simmons is an energy investment banker. He's been investing in the energy business for thirty five years. His company is Simmons and Company International.

Matthew Simmons is also a writer on oil depletion. He wrote a book, Twiligh in the Desert: The coming Saudi Oil Shock and the World Economy. It is an excellent book.

Matthew Simmons also gives radio and television interviews. He talks at conferences and he posts his conference slides on his company website.

Matthew Simmons recently spoke at the ASPO 2009 conference in Denver, USA. ASPO 2009 is a peak oil conference.

Here is a slide from his talk. Slide number 26. The message it conveys is very important.

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The Scottish Government have just announced the availability of interest free loans of between £500 and £10,000 for householders to

• Install cavity wall or solid wall insulation and/or loft insulation;
• Install renewable energy systems, such as wind turbines, solar water heating, heat pumps, small scale hydroelectric schemes and wood fuel heating systems;
• Replace old, inefficient boilers.

Loans should be paid back in monthly installments  over a maximum of 8 years.Read more