Kaputnik

Interested in renewables, nature, space technology. Do not judge people by the actions of others.

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@susansnyder1975 @AndrewDessler Surely nobody is seriously producing large scale lead or NiCad batteries any more??
I'm pretty sure lead acid batteries are easily recycled. There must be billions of them out there...

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@Libertymancer @AndrewDessler You're making the case for distributed generation and storage, which is a much better fit for renewables/EVs than fossil fuels.

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@TheNewEconoman @AndrewDessler Tell me more about these subsidies then, I'd quite like a bit of that.

FYI I've just come back from three years of off grid living, entirely solar powered. It absolutely was the cheaper option, as well as having many other advantages.

I'd be happy to share my costings with you

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@TheNewEconoman @AndrewDessler In the UK we have no subsidies for household solar and private EVs, yet people are buying them and saving money.

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@clivehbest @AndrewDessler If the options are gas + wind, or just gas, surely gas + wind wins out?

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@Adam_Grant_Bell Interesting thread, thanks!
Any idea how much storage capacity has already been built?

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@Jenny_1884 You got the government you wanted, you got the Brexit you wanted, and all you do is foam at the mouth about how terrible everything is 😂😂😂

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@Janine511484078 @7Kiwi @CarbonBrief @DrSimEvans Still room for improvement.

Anyway, history will show which one of us is right here. The transition is happening whether your like it or not. It's just basic economics.

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@Janine511484078 @7Kiwi @CarbonBrief @DrSimEvans Based on my own experience.
I've been living off grid on solar/battery for nearly three years. It was primarily a cost driven decision.

You deny that local air pollution from fossil fuels exists??

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@Janine511484078 @7Kiwi @CarbonBrief @DrSimEvans There are many reasons to stop burning fossil fuels.
CO2 and climate change.
High cost compared to renewables.
Dependency on foreign oil producers.
Local air pollution.
Eventual scarcity of reserves.
Inefficiency of combustion as an energy source.

Do you deny all of these?

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@7Kiwi @Janine511484078 @CarbonBrief @DrSimEvans Grass is not a solar panel, it doesn't necessarily want the highest possible levels of direct sunlight. It does pretty well in diffuse lighting conditions, and is more dependant on temperature than direct sunlight.
Main point, though, is that PV on pasture does not kill the grass

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@Janine511484078 @7Kiwi @CarbonBrief @DrSimEvans Any form of grid power could be centrally controlled and rationed. It could be applied to coal, gas, nuclear, etc just as much as it could with renewables
Most people don't worry about this because we've been happily connected to a grid for decades.
(I don't worry about it, btw)

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@7Kiwi @Janine511484078 @CarbonBrief @DrSimEvans I'm not against nuclear, but there's absolutely nothing I can personally do about it other than argue with strangers on Twitter.
So let people buy and install solar out of their own pocket, and don't feed the anti solar myth machine.

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@Janine511484078 @7Kiwi @CarbonBrief @DrSimEvans It does seem silly to put PV on productive farmland when we have acres of car parks and roofs not yet used for solar.
Although it's a myth that PV prevents any other use of land. It can still need used for grazing with very little effect on the grass. And you get happy sheep too

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@Janine511484078 @7Kiwi @CarbonBrief @DrSimEvans Wow I didn't realise you were so far down the rabbit hole.
It's a huge win for everybody if we can at least halve our fossil fuel consumption. I mean, you are aware that they aren't making any more of the stuff? That alone is a good reason to reduce how much of it we burn.

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@7Kiwi @Janine511484078 @CarbonBrief @DrSimEvans Already have. Been living off grid for the last three years. The solar/LFP installation cost about double what a petrol generator would have cost, but with zero running costs.
A cheaper to run diesel generator would have cost about four times as much as solar did.

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@BryanMilham @JudeL30577512 @douglasbulloch And how has Brexit benefited these industries? I guess the permanent 10% drop in value of Sterling might have helped. But that brings its own problems too.

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@Janine511484078 @7Kiwi @CarbonBrief @DrSimEvans (2/2) give time for gas plants to fire up. And longer term, batteries become viable on their own as they get cheaper, with V2G forming part of the system, along with more inter-connectors and load management.

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@Janine511484078 @7Kiwi @CarbonBrief @DrSimEvans The figures I'm looking at are a bit higher, at 37.8%. Nuclear gets us comfortably over 50% low carbon energy.
Halving our fossil fuel use is a huge win. In the medium term, short duration battery storage will... (1/2)

[Kaputnik @Kaputnik_2006]

@7Kiwi @Janine511484078 @CarbonBrief @DrSimEvans I don't know what that is. I just know the prices of the equipment I can buy and put up on my roof.
But apparently installing solar out of my own pocket to reduce my energy bills is 'virtue signalling' rather than sensible household planning.