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STOP PRESS: Friday's AGM will be at 7.30 p.m. at Asgard, Sessay. There
is no special business, just the AGM formalities and the usual open
forum. It is expected to be a small and short meeting. The chairman's
annual report is available by email on request.
1. BBC on-line news 25.9.05 reports small networks of power generators
in "microgrids" could transform the electricity network in the way that
the net changed distributed communication. That is one of the
conclusions of a Southampton University project scoping out the
feasibility of microgrids for power generation and distribution.
Microgrids are small community networks that supply electricity and
heat.
2. An insightful and technically well informed paper has been submitted
by Derek G Birkett, a retired Grid Control Engineer, to the Royal
Society of Edinburgh inquiry on renewable energy (news188.1). The paper
can be found at
Appendix C of the Submission, Derek Birkett's letter to 'IEE Review',
ends with the paragraph :-
"As a retired grid control engineer my instincts react against all
thought of
unpredictable renewable power on the scale proposed, sloshing around the
system. Predictability is the key to secure grid operation. The
Electricity Grid
is a dynamic beast and unforgiving, it is inherently unstable. Wind
resource
does not provide any governor response to assist the automatic
correction of
system frequency deviations. Its exploitation on any scale would deter
the
introduction of new replacement capacity by soaking up available demand,
the basis of payment within a market driven structure. At minimum levels
of
system demand with fixed base load operation of nuclear plant, in
turbulent
conditions, the control of system frequency would become a nightmare."
3. News from China of its developing nuclear power programme suggests
large gains in efficiency (APPENDIX 1).
4. The Highland Council web site
has many papers on the new planning system and renewable energy. There
is a large consultants' report on undergrounding high voltage
transmission lines, with application to Scotland, commissioned in
relation to the Beauly - Denny proposal. There are papers of a Renewable
Energy Group and an emerging Highland Renewable Energy Strategy on which
the Council is aiming to start an 11-week consultation on 28 October,
which will include six public meetings across the Highlands.
5. Delegates at the Ninth Grove Fuel Cell Symposium in London were told
that consumer electronics offered an obvious route forward. "Consumer
electronics will represent the first major mass market for fuel cells,"
said George A panel from SRI Consulting, a chemical industry
consultancy. "It is the beginning of the personal power revolution where
people will be able to divorce themselves from the tyranny of the grid."
6. A letter (APENDIX 2) from Hambleton branch of CPRE tells how flawed
government windfarm policy is being promoted uncritically through the
planning system. The letter responds to a meeting 7.10.05 called to
present the North Yorkshire Renewable Energy Study findings.
7. Snips from news@all-energy Issue 56 of October 2005 are at APPENDIX
3.
8. Former energy minister Brian Wilson has been appointed as chairman
of Airtricity, the Irish wind power company with ambitious plans for
wind farms in Scotland (APPENDIX 4). Already Wilson and his chief
executive are complaining of a planning bottleneck and delays in getting
approval in Scotland. This company has previously proposed a 10 GW wind
farm in the North Sea off the Aberdeen coast. According to the Sunday
Herald 16 October Airtricity plans a 16 billion pound North Sea wind
facility to supply Germany and Britain.
9. The situation at Fairways Farm, Sale, where Dermot Finnigan has a
long-running dispute with National Grid, raises an important issue which
may affect many home owners. A 400 kV power line is on neighbouring land
but the "swing" of the line (a significant movement in windy conditions)
brings it over Dermot's property where there is no wayleave. There is a
dispute over whether the "still" position of the line trespasses over
the boundary but it seems to be accepted that the "swing" does cross the
boundary. The important point is that there are safety requirements
imposed upon the landowner but no wayleave or apparent power to impose
these requirements. Dermot's letter to the NG Chairman is at APPENDIX 5.
A legal precedent, Laiqat v Majid [2005] 26EG130 (CS), concerning an
extractor fan exhaust from a take-away shop, establishes that even a
slight and temporary intrusion at a height of several metres into space
above a property constitutes a trespass. The judge gave as an example
that a developer was not entitled to swing a crane over an adjoining
property. I would be pleased to hear from any landowners or homeowners
with a line on neighbouring property within a couple of metres of their
boundary.
10. Simon Jenkins in the Guardian 14 October summarises the new planning
system arising from the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 as
government imposing its will through regional planning bodies with an
attitude to local concerns as "you can all get stuffed". The article
"The verbal smokescreen that hides dangerous government" is mainly about
the government's plans for a million new homes in the south east, but
equally well applies to wind farms and power lines. He says the 2004 Act
"forced every community in England to an unprecedented surrender of
control over its physical development to a plan centrally ordained in
Whitehall".
*****
*****
APPENDIX 1 Super-efficient nuke reactor set for trial
Oct 5, 2005 - China Daily
Author(s): Fu Jing
Chinese scientists are planning super-efficient nuclear reactors that
can maximize
uranium burn-up and minimize waste in the generation of electricity.
If the first experimental reactor, set to be in operation by 2010, is
successfl, the
technology could help relieve China's uranium supply problems as the
country
accelerates nuclear power plant construction.
China Academy of Atomic Science President Zhao Zhixiang said a team of
scientists
has already mapped a detailed plan to speed up research and utilization
of the
so-called next-generation fast reactors.
The new reactors are expected to burn 60-70 per cent of their uranium
fuel - a
conventional reactor consumes only 0.7 per cent of the uranium it is
fed.
"This kind of reactor can greatly improve the efficiency of fuel burn-
up, and we are
trying our best to put the experimental reactor into use over the next
five years," Zhao
said.
Current reactors are only able to harness the power of 0.7 per cent of
the radioactive
isotopes found in natural uranium.
In the fast reactor, the process is optimized so that more of the
previously untapped
isotopes can be used to generate electricity, burning-up fuel at least
60 times more
efficiently than in a normal reactor.
"We will have no concerns over fuel supply if such reactors are used to
generate
electricity commercially," Zhao said.
China started research into fast nuclear reactor technology in 1995 and
invested
1.38 billion yuan (US$170.2 million) into the construction of the
experimental reactor.
"I hope an experimental reactor with a capacity of 200,000 kilowatts can
be put into
use by 2010," Zhao said. He added that construction of the reactor is
close to
completion but did not identify the site of the project under the High
and New T
echnology Research and Development Programme of the Chinese Government.
He also said plans for a fast-reactor prototype are expected to be
included in the
country's medium- and long-term science and technology development
blueprints.
The prototype reactor, with a capacity of 600,000 kilowatts, will be
constructed and
put into operation by 2020, Zhao said, adding: "After that, we will
consider
commercial operation of the reactor."
As China's economy keeps developing rapidly, demand for power also keeps
increasing. To meet its growing energy demands, China has mapped out a
national
plan to increase nuclear generating capacity to 36,000 megawatts by
2020, up from
8,700 megawatts today. The proportion of national power output supplied
by nuclear
energy is expected to rise from 2.3 per cent now to 4 per cent.
A senior official from the National Development and Reform Commission
told China
Daily that the country will have an even more ambitious plan to generate
nuclear
power after 2020.
"All the plans urged our researchers to develop our own core
technologies for the
reactors," said the official, who declined to be named. "And I
personally believe the
fast reactor will play a leading role during the 2040-50 period in
China's nuclear plant
construction."
Apart from fast reactor research, China has also made a breakthrough in
gas-cooled
nuclear reactors, which can generate considerably higher temperatures
than
conventional nuclear reactors, leading to a high power generating
capacity.
Using helium as a coolant, the reactor, mainly developed by researchers
from
Tsinghua University, is also able to shut down and cool automatically in
an
emergency. Senior State Council officials have called for early
commercial
application of China's first gas- cooled nuclear reactor to help
restructure China's
energy supply strategy.
Most of the nuclear reactors currently in operation in China rely on
technology
imported from France and Russia.
*****
*****
APPENDIX 2 Extracts from a letter written by Hambleton CPRE following
a NYCC conference on Renewable energy, Friday 7th October.
We were grateful for the opportunity to attend this conference
which was well organised and had an interesting group of speakers, but
left it with a feeling of deep dread.
The Government has delegated the policy of energy production
largely to Local Authorities who, in the words of the AERE, are largely
ill equipped to deal with it having no experience and no technical
expertise record in the area. Most Authorities are therefore tackling
the problem with the aid of consultants. So far, so good, but
Authorities may not have the expertise to defeat the consultants when
the latter's reports are inadequate.
This was vividly demonstrated on Friday. The main report failed
to state that the over-riding objective was the supply of reliable,
economic energy. When questioned the platform said that this was the
Government responsibility, the report merely actioned policy. The report
had main objectives "To ensure that no Household paid more than 10% of
its income for energy" and also that North Yorkshire should ensure that
10% of an arbitrary target should come from renewables.
Such objectives demand that reports should attempt to demonstrate that
the approach proposed would meet them, yet those presented failed to do
so. There were two main failures:-
There was no economic analysis whatever so no attempt to demonstrate the
target of requiring household expenditure to be less than 10% for energy
would be met.
The target proposed was expressed in terms of installed generating
capacity. Since most renewable generation is intermittent what happens
when it is not operational? There was not even any attempt to show what
the effective output of the capacity installed would be.
As you know our members include those who have been employed for many
years alongside and inside the energy industry and latterly by Banks and
Investment houses to validate consultant reports. We would have no
hesitation in rejecting the some of the reports as inadequate on the
above grounds alone.
We were also disturbed by some other aspects of the talks.. A wide range
of renewable resource possibilities was mentioned, again without
economic or effective capacity analysis thereby, in our judgement,
giving a very distorted picture of the possible gains. One example will
suffice:-
Mention was made of fastening wind generators to the roofs of houses.
This is possible, but the generators are very small - so small that the
manufacturers claim they are suitable for battery charging and in many
cases they are not even capable of generating mains voltages.
Manufacturers state that to provide the electricity for a three bedroom
house a turbine with a blade diameter of 5.5m mounted on a pole giving a
total height of 49ft and a cost of about £20k would be required. Despite
a subsidy of about 50% such a piece of kit would be uneconomic - and
very difficult to put in most gardens! Clearly smaller units could
produce power but they are even less economic and do little to help meet
the Government targets.
We believe it is absolutely essential that speakers in conferences
should be required to show, with their proposals and examples, the
economic and effective capacity outcomes.
The platform response to our criticism was, we felt, disingenuous. It is
never sufficient to say we were doing what the Government asked if, in
their opinion, the policy is wrong. The report should say something to
the effect. "This is what the Government has asked us to do and the
results will be such that it does not result in the targets being met".
Our own position is that the fundamental flaws in Government policy are
The disposition of renewable targets should be based on an analysis of
those areas where it is technically possible to meet them, not on some
basis of former generating capacity or usage.
The targets should be based on effective capacity not installed capacity
The targets may accept that subsidy is required for initiation but not
for substantial follow up or operation. If subsidy is required in
perpetuity then the costs will be too great for the economy to bear and
quite certainly the 10% maximum per household will collapse.
In delegating the renewables element to Local/Regional Authorities the
Government is presumably retaining the provision of base load capacity
to itself. How can the two be melded? It is surely unwise to go ahead
with the two aspects in isolation?
Whilst we all try and implement the Government policy without
demonstrating and protesting about the inadequacies, the policy will
remain unaltered and we will waste money and store up trouble for the
future.
We have written to to set out our feelings about the conference. We
would be grateful if you could direct us towards the best way of making
our feelings known and to assist in a more rigorous approach.
*****
*****
APPENDIX 3. Snips from news@all-energy Issue 56, Oct 2005.
1.14.Highlands forges ahead
"In the absence of clear guidance from the Scottish Executive, we have
taken a lead in Scotland in dedicating the time, effort and resources
towards framing a comprehensive renewable energy policy for the
Highlands" - Highland Council's Planning chairman Sandy Park on
publication of the draft Highland Renewable Energy Strategy and Planning
Guidelines.
(long web address given)
The Highland Council's draft policy documents compiled by
consultants, Aquatera is at
1.15.Red tape blocking micro-generation
The government's plans to encourage millions of UK households to
generate their own electricity must be backed up with effective
policy...... research released by academics shows consumers face a
number
of cost-prohibitive obstacles
3.2.Beauly to Denny pylon route
The impact of plans to build a 137-mile power transmission line of huge
pylons from the Highlands is to be considered by Scottish Natural
Heritage
Scottish and Southern Energy has rejected calls to bury the cables
underground
Plans to put part of the
route through the Cairngorms National Park would make the protected area
a national joke claim campaigners
6.1.Trident reveals results of tests
Trident Energy has successfully completed testing a scale wave energy
converter at NaREC. Extrapolating the results to full scale indicates a
generating capacity per point absorber of approximately 100KW in good
sea conditions. From this, a wave farm occupying just 5 hectares will be
capable of supplying 100MW
6.3.Bobber may outperform offshore windfarms
Manchester, famous for bobbins in the cotton era, has now invented the
"bobber" - an electricity generator which uses rising and falling floats
to create power. Tests at Manchester University suggest the device could
outperform windfarms by harnessing the motion of waves
and
8.1.Unst hydrogen scheme hailed a success
The backers of Europe's first community-owned hydrogen production
facility have claimed to be close to making the project viable. The
scheme on Unst uses wind power to supply storage heaters, with the rest
of the energy producing hydrogen from water
*****
*****
APPENDIX 4 Wilson: renewables target creates planning bottleneck
Scotsman 15 October 2005
COLIN DONALD
BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT
FORMER energy minister Brian Wilson yesterday questioned the Scottish
Executive's ability to hit its ambitious renewables targets.
He blamed a failure to provide adequate planning resources to meet the
demand, created by the Executive's 2003 target of 40 per cent renewable
energy by 2020, which has resulted, he said, in the "creation of a
bottleneck as well as a policy".
Speaking on his appointment as UK chairman of the Irish wind energy
company
Airtricity, the former Cunninghame North MP, said: "It has been pretty
obvious for several years now that renewable energy would make
substantial
additional demands on the planning system in Scotland as a result of a
policy promoted by the Executive.
"It would be interesting to know how many officials had been delegated
to
deal with this self-made issue.
"It is as true in Whitehall as it is in Scotland. It's an obvious
example
of where joined up government would help. They created a policy but they
also created a bottleneck."
Wilson's remarks were echoed by Airtricity's chief executive, Eddie
O'Connor, who said: "The Scottish planning regime is not very
business-friendly.
"The targets and the ROC [renewable obligation certificates] scheme may
be
in place, but when the rubber meets the road, it took 25 months to get
planning permission to develop our site at the Braes of Doune, for
instance. In Ireland you know within nine months if you can go ahead."
Airtricity, which has spent £10 million developing windfarm plans in
Scotland, including an established site at Ardrossan, said that it had
employed Wilson to oversee ambitious future strategy and investment
plans.
On Wilson's appointment, O'Connor added: "Our customer is the
government,
so he can help us not just at Westminster but in Scotland, where a huge
amount of development is going to happen."
Airtricity, which has extensive windfarm developments in the US, as well
as
Ireland and Scotland, last year made a pre tax profit of £13m on a
turnover
of £86m.
*****
*****
APPENDIX 5 Letter from Dermot Finnigan to NG Chairman Sir John
Parker.
Dear Sir John,
Re: FAIRWAYS FARM, SALE, MANCHESTER M33 2GG.
Thank you for your letter dated 5th October 2005 via Mr Pearson.
You have sent me two pages of safety information and 11 reference
documents relating to health and safety issues and overhead power lines
appertaining to my land.
Would you please confirm that this information has been issued to all
residential properties that fall with the same safety limit of 5. 3
meters that applies to your lines in swing in the UK, Europe and the
USA.
It is extraordinary to see the full extent of the requirements,
regulations, guidance notes, restrictions your line has imposed on my
property without consent.
Would you please as a matter of urgency dispatch a director of your
organisation to my home to mark out the extent of the safety limit.
Yours Sincerely
Mr D. Finnigan
*****
*****
--
Mike O'Carroll