Why current electricity generation policies don’t work in today’s world!

Not that long ago, Electricity and the power revolution saw that the demand for this new source of energy escalate to the point where it made economic sense to mass produce in one location and distribute the electricity through power cables to each consumer.

As steam generation became more economical and versatile than hydro or wind, thermal power stations using fuels which could be transported almost anywhere started to be built across the country until almost everyone could benefit from electricity.

A network of interconnecting high powered transmission cables linked each power station and connected to a series of low powered distribution grids to service the consumers.

The whole system and set-up grew, each step complimenting and enhancing the system providing millions of homes and businesses.

It worked!

In the 1970’s, due to concerns about the environment, a renewed interest in wind power saw the beginning of a new revolution; One which would see the industry grow to produce large amounts of electricity from Hugh wind farms scattered around the globe.

And now solar farms are becoming more wide spread. Not just PV, but thermal solar creating heat storage to produce power even when the sun has set.

Both wind and solar provide substantial amounts of electricity, but due to the remote locations of (most of) these farms, most feed into the distribution part of the National Grids. As such, they are effectively an 'Add-on' which is creating big problems in the control and distribution of the generated power.

It doesn't work!

Connecting a large scale renewable energy source to the distribution grid is like plugging an extension cord into a socket. With the correct extension cord and fuses, this is not usually a problem. but when you connect another cord, then another...

Even with the correct cords and fuses; eventually something has to give.

Wind and hydro was deemed unsuitable to meet demand back in the late 1800's, early 1900's. Today, wind is still unsuitable for mass production as is solar. Hydro, due to the ability to provide constant power from the fuel source, is more viable for mass production. Also, as a major power source, they are connected to the transmission network.

But to make more profit, energy providers are not helping the renewable energy growth. Offshore (only just) wind farms, in order to reduce installation and connection costs are being built right in front of coastal towns and cities, like the seaside town of Redcar pictured above.

Or the deforestation of hill tops and the pouring of thousands of tonnes of concrete just to support the Clyde wind farm.

However; the biggest issue with wind is that each massive farm only covers a small portion of the available wind. That with the inefficient conversion process makes the production of energy small in comparison to the available fuel source. A bit like a V8 running on 2 cylinders.

When the wind does not blow in the one area, the farm, and the multi gigawatt installation produces nothing.

Now here's an idea. The natural force of wind energy is everywhere, even in towns and cities; where we use the most electricity. If we make small scale renewable energy systems that can create small amounts of electricity, say enough to reduce the average household consumption by 25%, we would produce more energy overall, than with Hugh turbines situated on every hill top and every meter around the coast.

The added advantage of enabling home owners to reduce their electricity bills means that, for example, Scotland would reduce its annual carbon emissions by over 1.4 million tonnes of CO2 and add over ￡450 million of extra disposable income annually into the economy.

Sustainable Urban Energy Ltd is working To making this happen. Providing home owners with savings and enabling small and medium sized businesses to be more competitive is our goal.

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