By Paul Homewood
h/t Paul Kolk
Justin Rowlatt caught misleading the public again!
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That’s what Reform UK claims, and says it’s why it plans to scrap all subsidies for renewable energy projects.
The calculation isn’t as straightforward as you might think, though.
The cost of a unit of power from a new solar or wind project is lower than the cost from a new gas generator, according to government figures
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But there are other factors that need to be taken into account.
Renewable power is intermittent. The electricity system needs a source of backup power for when the sun isn’t shining, or the wind isn’t blowing – gas power stations or batteries, for example.
Calculating how much that will cost will depend on all sorts of factors including the future price of gas and the cost of electricity storage facilities.
That’s not all. We all experienced how energy prices spiked after Russia invaded Ukraine. That represents a serious cost to the economy too, says the Office of Budget Responsibility
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Renewables prices are more predictable and therefore would make the country more resilient against price shocks.
So, while renewables are relatively cheap and getting cheaper it is hard to say for certain whether an electricity system with a high level of renewables will lead to higher or lower bills than one that relies more on gas.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-69122757/page/2
I have two comments:
1) Why is the Climate Editor discussing energy issues, rather then the Energy Editor?
2) This disinformation about Reform’s policies is clear election interference.
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Rowlatt claims:
The cost of a unit of power from a new solar or wind project is lower than the cost from a new gas generator, according to government figures
But the government figures he quotes are not only out of date, but were fundamentally flawed in the first place, as a proper energy expert would have told him. These were the govt projections; they are at 2021 prices:
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However last year’s CfD auction failed to attract any bidders for offshore at a price of £44/MWh at 2012 prices – (equivalent to £60/MWh now). This was because the price on offer did not cover their costs.
As a result the government was forced to increase the Strike Price to £73/MWh for offshore wind at 2012 prices (£100/MWh now); also onshore wind and solar were drastically raised to £88/MWh and £84/MWh respectively, both at today’s prices.
By contrast, CCGT costs only £54/MWh, if we ignore “Carbon Costs”, which are not real costs at all. (I’ll do a further post on this later today).
Current market prices this financial year are around £56/MWh, which bears out the above projection for CCGT. The BEIS analysis assumes a gas wholesale price of 53p/therm, slightly lower than the average of about 70p this year. This would increase fuel prices for CCGT from £43 to £56/MWh. This total costs might be around £67/MWh, still well below renewable sources.
Another complaint will be winging its way to the BBC!
via NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT
June 18, 2024 at 06:00AM
Iowa Climate Science Education 