ENERGY SUPPLY - please comment to add your ideas
Please comment with your climate change ideas/feedback on Energy Supply, here are some ideas for actions you might want to consider;
- Investigating ways of transitioning from the need for fossil fuels.
- Exploring reliable, resilient, robust and clean electricity and energy supplies using our natural assets and geographical position.
- Protecting our natural environment while developing sustainability, maintaining necessary structures and developing international partnerships.
Why the contribution is important
Your opinion counts
by SaraIOMGov on September 19, 2019 at 11:49AM
Posted by ianpilbeam September 20, 2019 at 08:46
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Posted by Scryer September 20, 2019 at 11:50
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Posted by McBain September 20, 2019 at 14:17
2. Recognize that near-shore seabed fracking is fundamentally incompatible with climate change objectives and so should not be considered as an 'option' for the Isle.
3. Actually commit to DO SOMETHING rather than forming "working parties" to academically assess issues, present options for discussions to the politicians who then agonize about what to do for so long that eventually it's a new electoral cycle.
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Posted by NettyH September 20, 2019 at 18:59
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Posted by Malcolm September 21, 2019 at 16:15
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Posted by LizH September 23, 2019 at 11:17
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Posted by RachelAG September 24, 2019 at 09:29
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Posted by WooWaaBob September 24, 2019 at 14:41
I suggest that one at Windy Corner would be iconic and will show the world at the next TT that the IoM has joined the fray - assuming it is feasible and optimal.
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Posted by WooWaaBob September 24, 2019 at 14:46
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Posted by petersmith September 25, 2019 at 13:05
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Posted by GREENIOM September 25, 2019 at 13:09
If those in power are convinced that fracking is the only way we will be able to afford the changes that need to be made, then the people in power need to change. In an emergency, you don't consider whether you can afford to take action - you just do. And, it has been proven time and time again, though the initial costs of greenifying will be high, they are more cost-effective in the long run. Additionally, by not taking action now, the monetary costs of runaway climate change will be astronomical, and the burden placed on the children of today, rather than those who can make a difference before it is too late.
These previous points consider only the current method of measuring value - money. We must also consider the social, environmental and health value of projects we take on. By choosing to support fracking, you ignore the alternative ways of measuring value (which I believe the transition team is looking into).
However, this is not just a platform for saying what shouldn't happen. Instead of the exploitation of fossil fuels, the Isle of Man must invest (through bonds, crowd-sourcing, etc.) in offshore windfarms. Just 5 wind turbines will power the Island's current electricity needs. This will increase as we electrify. Though tidal is a fantastic option, the technology is just not there yet, and should absolutely not be relied upon as an option. As we ramp up our renewable supply, which will take a few years, then the technology may be ready to be implemented, but we cannot rely on unproven technology to solve a proven (and urgent) problem. This national resource should be backed up by both community energy projects, and energy storage. Using electric cars as battery storage when not in use (e.g. night time, and between working hours) can provide energy at those times, and during hours of overproduction, we can power reservoir storage (which is a proven technology). If we cannot store enough energy, then use the interconnect cable to buy electricity from the UK. The Island has more wind potential than energy need, therefore we will sell significantly more than we have to buy during hours of low production, reducing costs.
Community energy projects (which will require a change in the Electricity Act) would supplement this supply, and allow small communities to provide their own energy, and sell back to the national grid. This would require the MUA's debt to be forgiven, as currently there is no incentive to allow people to generate their own electricity, as it would reduce their income, and therefore their ability to pay off the debt. This should ABSOLUTELY be a recommendation in the report.
By providing communities with the autonomy (and perhaps grants) to fund and build their own renewable energy supplies, we engage people with the climate question on a personal level. By having ownership over their own energy, they are much more inclined to be involved in other issues surrounding climate change, and will likely electrify their own homes and lives naturally, in order to take advantage of the energy supply. This takes some infrastructure pressure off Government, and allows a bottom-up approach to energy, and increase the choice we make about the electricity we buy.
All of this requires electrification. Our public transport system must be moved to an all-electric one, and be transformed to be reliable and accessible to all. Those living in towns should be within a 15-minute walk of a bus stop, and some form of park and ride scheme should be implemented for those living in villages and areas outside the normal routes. All buses should be able to take bikes. It should also be completely free. This sounds too optimistic but when the costs saved by having a well used public transport system are taken into consideration, this change is of benefit. The cost of widening roads to accommodate more traffic, of building bypasses (for example in Ballasalla), for creating more spaces for car parking (while removing a safe, social space for pedestrians), repair on roads, the huge cost of road traffic accidents (which occur at a rate double that in the UK), and the social isolation of those who don't own a car, and whom the current public transport system doesn't work for - all of these will be significantly reduced by having an accessible, free, electric public transport system. I acknowledge there are also issues with this idea, and would like to discuss them further with anyone who is willing.
Additionally, retrofitting of buildings and fitting of air/ground source heat pumps must be implemented Islandwide (with Government taking the costs, at least for the beginning, and for those unable to make the change themselves due to financial hardship). All new builds should be to Passivhaus (or other zero-carbon) standard, both residential and business. The sale of petrol and diesel vehicles must be prohibited within the next 5 years, but with an educational aspect of ensuring people keep their current cars for as long as is practical, due to the high environmental cost of new vehicles.
There are many, many more things to suggest, and I am happy to discuss those with anyone interested. Thank you for opening up this dialogue, and the opportunity for discussion and contribution. I truly hope you take radical solutions on board. You are in such a powerful position - your report is what the people of the Isle of Man will be pushing for - it will be difficult to push anything more radical. So please, for the sake of this generation, and all those yet to come, please, please be radical and idealistic - it is the ONLY way we will get change. Thank you.
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Posted by McBain September 26, 2019 at 09:56
• deploying renewable technology will take a few years, but no more than that, particularly if you look at already ‘mature’ technologies like onshore wind (cheaper than offshore in all respects) and has a much higher energy density than solar;
• allying renewable generation to storage will remove any anxiety over intermittency, as such a system would allow output peaks and troughs to be ’smoothed’, thereby reducing demand on the existing gas-fuelled CCGT, or stored so that it could be traded via the existing interconnector;
• the Isle is the perfect place for electrification of transport (save perhaps for ’heritage’ routes like the steam train on Snaefell) because it is basically small, journey lengths are never going to exceed a vehicle's fully-charged range
My biggest worry relates to political expediency - it's wonderful that many MHK's have seen the green light but I harbor an awful suspicion that this may be little more than a pre-electioneering stance designed to harvest votes and that following the general election, normal apathy will prevail and the only response will be ... again ... to commission a report to look at the situation!
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Posted by DocMills October 01, 2019 at 12:36
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Posted by DocMills October 01, 2019 at 12:37
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Posted by paulweatherall October 02, 2019 at 11:33
Tidal energy should be considered as the technology matures
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Posted by MarXthespot October 02, 2019 at 20:06
I’m not sure of the capacity of the powerwall storage systems but I know solar power is viable with these fitted.
What if there were district power storage like substation which collects and distributes energy collected by PV panels owned by the ‘supply’ company.
The power station which does still have functional life could be turned into a science museum for children and adult educational entertainment of which there is nothing on the island.
Industries requiring greater voltage for who we generate/supply so much electricity then knock it down and down, could run from a district model again sized appropriately to suit the demand in the locality.
The solution may be to rethink the existing network and how that supply works. Jobs would be maintained fitting and maintaining panels. There is and income from the lease hire of the panels/storage systems, because we couldn’t possibly have free power that would end the debt of the MUA
Change course don’t Be fooled into cracking a nut with a sledge hammer. like the incinerator concept which was sold as a good way to go! No to Nuclear No to wind turbines yes to solar and hydro electricity we have plenty of running water as yesterday proved.
Hydro could double up as flood attenuation if strategically selected and implemented again the right size for the demand.
I hope a new way to imagine supply and demand can be realised. Good luck🌍⚡️🌕
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Posted by NoMoreFossilFeul October 11, 2019 at 04:12
It's already locked up in a carbon store.
It causes pollution in extraction methods.
It directly counters any action.
Better, more viable, more economic solutions exist that are carbon neutral.
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Posted by NoMoreFossilFeul October 11, 2019 at 04:13
These can just be updated with new figures and costs.
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Posted by NoMoreFossilFeul October 11, 2019 at 04:21
They can be installed distributed across the island at substations or near green energy installations.
https://www.skeletontech.com/grid-and-renewables
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Posted by McBain October 11, 2019 at 16:21
GreenIOM - you need 100+ wind turbines to power the IOM”
Sorry, this is completely inaccurate. If for example, you wanted to use the Siemens SG 5.0-145, then with just *12* you could produce 60MW - more than the demand of the entire Isle. Not sure what sort of model you were envisaging as requiring hundreds to meet Isle demand...
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Posted by McBain October 11, 2019 at 16:26
Build a Nuclear Power Station at the Point of Ayre. The only viable energy source for a carbon neutral world is nuclear power. Plenty of room at the Point and sell the excess to UK.”
Where to start...
Total Isle electricity demand is way less than 65MW. A nuclear power station will produce *way* too much power. For example, the second reactor unit operating at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station, India, is the seventh smallest nuclear reactor in the world. The Rajasthan 2 reactor is a horizontal pressure tube type pressurised heavy-water reactor (PHWR) and has a gross power capacity of 200MWe.
In other words, you've only got a 65MW capacity interconnector, so what would you do with the excess power that you can't export, and have no use for on the Isle?
Unless you want a bespoke nuclear power station and a new interconnector, in which case I'm ecstatic to learn that the Government coffers must be positively BULGING with billions just waiting to be spent!
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Posted by Fell October 12, 2019 at 15:50
We need much better public information on:
1. the level of MEA debt still needing to be serviced by consumers,
2. how this debt would be serviced if there was, say a 50% shift to renewable energy,
3. what the cost impacts would be to private and business consumers.
4. what the actual contribution of the MEA and the incinerator are to the Island's greenhouse emissions
Clearly if the goal is to reduce emissions Pulrose would also need to stop generating electricity for export.
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Posted by bettyburton October 13, 2019 at 10:40
Local community involvement in implementation.
Government insistence on home insulation in both private and public sector housing and buildings.
Wastage of heat adds to our problem.
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Posted by Griffdog October 13, 2019 at 13:35
There should be more incentives for individuals and companies to fit their own solar energy systems - including a better deal when selling back to the MUA.
Even if we are not 100% self sufficient straight away we have to do something and we have to act very soon to start making some progress.
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Posted by henryuniacke October 14, 2019 at 13:02
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Posted by mtf October 14, 2019 at 19:19
The MUA also has a monopoly on selling power, so it isn't possible for anybody to generate it and sell it to somebody else directly to avoid this MUA "margin".
Small wind turbines should be also be permitted development as long as they are more than a couple of metres from a neighbouring property.
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Posted by AndrewWingate October 15, 2019 at 17:03
We need to be realistic about fossil fuel use etc.
If The Island used no fossil fuel whatsoever the effect on the worlds climate would be imperceptible. The short [and probably long] term substitution of electricity in vehicles and heating needs would increase the cost of living and therefore reduce the living standards of everyone on The Island.
Some mitigating measures are possible but let us not have our politicians make us all markedly poorer whilst chasing rainbows.
There has been comment about shutting Pulrose power station and buying electricity from across. This would not reduce emissions, it would simply move them somewhere else. It would also leave The Island vulnerable to pressure from a hostile UK Government who could threaten our electricity supply.
There is much energy in a litre of petrol or diesel and a cubic meter of gas. To substitute this energy with electricity would need a huge and costly increase in generation capacity, and infrastructure. It must be kept in mind that the wind and sun cannot give consistent electricity generation all the time and fossil fuel generation will still be needed for the foreseeable future.
Electricity is nothing like as efficient a form of power for vehicles as is often made out. From initial generation, through transmission cables, battery charging, and final use in a motor, there are losses all along the way. There is also a significant environmental impact on making and disposing of high power batteries.
The increasing wealth of East Asian countries and Africa imply a huge increase in electricity demand throughout the world. With that background, and its probable effect on climate change, it would be foolish for The Island to indulge in expensive mitigation.
Inconveniently the world has moved through great temperature changes in its existence and no doubt will continue to so do after humans have become extinct. The rapid increase in the worlds human population in the last millennia must have had a marked effect on climate change. Hopefully, there may be a realisation by individuals that reducing family size and hence the worlds population will make the world a better place.
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Posted by WooWaaBob October 15, 2019 at 21:27
Apologies if others have suggested it already.
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Posted by WooWaaBob October 15, 2019 at 21:37
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Posted by WooWaaBob October 15, 2019 at 21:48
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Posted by FHorning October 15, 2019 at 21:48
Leave fossil fuels in the ground, no extraction of gas!
We should only consider renewable energy concepts which are 'proven technologies' like wind turbines and solar. Wave- and tidal energy are unfortunately many years away from large scale economical usage.
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Posted by Louise October 16, 2019 at 17:47
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Posted by ManxMuriellie October 17, 2019 at 12:56
Focus on the islands’ needs primarily - we do not need many wind turbines to supply all of our energy so these could be developed with a small offshore farm, and some located strategically onshore. (Love the idea of one at Windy Corner!). But their siting needs to ensure they do not interfere with wildlife (which is also struggling).
There are many ways of storing the turbine generated energy, not just batteries, but also hydrogen generation, with projects ongoing in the UK on how this can be used with natural gas as we wean ourselves off fossil fuels.
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Posted by Joney October 18, 2019 at 18:20
We should be investing in offshore wind, as well as exploring a range of other renewable options such as onshore, solar and tidal. Renewable energy is currently experiencing a technology boom. That is what we need to be getting on board with.
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