Well done wind

[Lirefighter]

Not very good, is it!
Little wonder a private company hasn't made a killing yet.
To say most have been gaslit, is a far too ironic term to use.

 

[aveatry]

Absolutely nothing

Feel scammed yet

 

[IT Minion]

If a private company could supply the majority of consumers with electricity from renewable sources at half the price it is now, and still make a profit, then they would.
Renewables are cheaper, so they say, so why has no bright spark cornered the market and made a killing yet?

Because you can't.

Big solar farms take time to get approved.
You can't build one huge one because the grid isn't designed for it.
There's a huge backlog on grid connections
Huge farms get rejected, blame the Tories.
Small farms get rejected, blame the Tory voters.
c
CFD, contract for difference, gives a set price to producers but that excludes huge profits. Going CFD free is only now something that is being discussed as there's so much profit and so little risk based on years of data.


Doing a big overnight change isn't possible, we've been rolling it out over time as it has become more and more economical so we can now deliver 42% of the power needed at times of full sun.

 

[JohnD]

Gas is currently at 1GW

I suspect that is tickover.

Solar 11.7
Wind 7.4
Nukes 5.1

 

[Justin Passing]

cfd....
As far as I misunderestimate it,
whatever the source, we pay the top price per kWh, which is the gas price; those contracts (fd) being based around it.
And the excess goes to HMG. So we're paying a large tax on energy, which isn't described as such.

Does anyone remember what Truss/Kwarteng were planning - it was some sort of separation?

 

[wobs]

If a private company could supply the majority of consumers with electricity from renewable sources at half the price it is now, and still make a profit, then they would.
Renewables are cheaper, so they say, so why has no bright spark cornered the market and made a killing yet?
Even at 15p/kw, I'd reckon that 80% of people would be using them within a year.
What's stopping someone doing this?

If a private company could supply the majority of consumers with electricity from renewable sources at twice the price it is now, and still make a profit, then they would.
Companies charge as much as the market allows.

 

[IT Minion]

cfd....
As far as I misunderestimate it,
whatever the source, we pay the top price per kWh, which is the gas price; those contracts (fd) being based around it.
And the excess goes to HMG. So we're paying a large tax on energy, which isn't described as such.

Does anyone remember what Truss/Kwarteng were planning - it was some sort of separation?

THe CFD goes into a pot, most of the time the government pays out more than they get (those are the green levies that the far right moan about) but sometimes when gas prices are high they make a profit which eventually goes to take a few pence off our electricity bills.

 

[JohnD]

Amusingly, rabid anti-renewables campaigner Trump has shot himself in the foot (or possibly the ear)

"Despite President Donald Trump’s dislike of green power, in March the US generated more of its electricity from renewable energy, such as solar and wind, than it did via gas for the first time"

Even though

"The Trump administration has brought US onshore wind development to a halt citing national security concerns, representing a major escalation in the president’s crusade against renewable energy.

Approvals for about 165 onshore wind projects on private lands are being stalled by the Department of Defense, including wind farms which were awaiting final sign-off, others in the middle of negotiations and some that typically would not require oversight by the department, according to the American Clean Power Association (ACP) and people close to the matter."

And

"Donald Trump doesn’t like renewable energy. He has cut tax credits and regulations that favour green investments, claimed offshore wind farms make whales go “a little bit loco” and pulled the US out of the Paris climate agreement (again). And yet, since his return to the White House in January 2025, the president’s actions have inadvertently raised the long-term appeal of green energy around the world."

FT.com

 

[Brigadier]

claimed offshore wind farms make whales go “a little bit loco”

Well, the ones visible from turnberry golf course certainly made the Orange Whale go loco