[Fi]

With regards to consumption of energy and our government. Our Building Standards are being updated on a very regular basis to ensure all new houses, extensions, alterations and commercial project are built to better and better insulation standards and lower carbon emmisions. The regulations also take account of the performance of an existing building in terms of insulation and if not to a minimum standard any alterations and extension will have to be designed to a higher spec to compensate.
In order to lower carbon emissions to the accepted level most new houses now are fitted with solar panels, wood burning stoves etc.
There is also now recognition for sustainable buildings and every new house will be awarded a medal dependant upon certain measures put in place.
In this regards I think our government is trying very hard to reduce energy consumption and riase awareness much to the displeasure of the developers. Every new house now costs more to build as a result.
I'm afraid our economy is stuck on the consumerism train and it will be very hard to stop.
Small localised renewables rurally are great but my experience is that all of these are either backed up by the national grid, or if off the grid a diesel generator. So not exactly a complete answer either. Also cost of these systems against payback makes them a life style choice for the wealthy. Perhaps a global energy network would be a better idea, so when the wind isn't blowing in Scotland and it is in the
Sahara we still have power. We could power the whole world with renewables if we had global network which would also help pull third world countries out of poverty. Check out this website and see what you think.
Www.Geni.org

[SallyintNorth]

I spent quite a bit of time in California (specifically San Francisco) in 2003/4 and was amazed to find that 'brownouts' are common and scheduled.  Businesses cope with no computers, no air conditioning by publishing timetables when it would be a good idea for people to be in offsite meetings, having time off to volunteer in the community, or be working from home.  In the domestic situation people make sure their freezers are freezed up before the scheduled power cut and they have anything out of them they'll need before the power is back on, etc.  Local power cuts would typically be 2-4 hours and could be at any time in the 24 hours.  I think the timetables were published a week or so ahead.

[Coley]

i agree ''a tad late'' so lets not cause more delay by obstucting windfarms eh?

No, while wind farms can be a valuable part of the 'energy mix I would suggest we look for a quick fix that would keep the lights on when we have no wind,
 Gas fired generation would be the quickest to construct but then we have problems with 'security of supply' which could be resolved by shale gas extraction, something I dont even think has been even considered by this or the previous govt

[robert waddell]

well they don't deep drift mine coal any longer     there was was a company in Scotland that was extracting methane gas and running generators just the same as the waste tips do and supplying the grid with electricity                                                                                               parafin young beat you all on this one extracting the shale oil and leaving the shale bings as a monument to the industrial past


ps  i am sure dan and rosemary could see the nodding donkey from there old house

[deepinthewoods]

there is no quick fix.

we're all doomed i tell ye doomed.

[SallyintNorth]

So, none of us has mentioned anaerobic digesters yet....

[Fowgill Farm]

or the fact that at present its urrrr too windy for the turbines to turn???
Whats that all about?

Mandy 

[Coley]

In order to lower carbon emissions to the accepted level most new houses now are fitted with solar panels, wood burning stoves etc.
No, I`m afraid not, at least not around here, most are built to be heated by gas, electric or oil, not a solar panel or turbine in sight amongst all the new build.

[Coley]

power cuts would typically be 2-4 hours and could be at any time in the 24 hours
I am concrened the power cuts we are facing will be a lot longer than that and we havent got californian sunshine to fall back on

[Fi]

Coley,
If you are in Scotland and the new houses being built round by you do not have solar panels etc, they are either very old permissions or super insulated to compensate. Either or the end result is the same the carbon emissions from the house have to achieve a certain level. Of course this is all done as a measurement tool to assess the house and not an accurate calculation of actual emissions, it is how the house is used at the end of the day that will affect actual carbon emissions.
Hopefully you will see more innovation from the developers near you soon.

And perhaps everyone can also spend a little to insulate their own homes, it's not always easy but every little bit helps.

[SallyintNorth]

I am concrened the power cuts we are facing will be a lot longer than that and we havent got californian sunshine to fall back on

Aye, no Californian sunshine to reduce the need for heat - but they have their air-conditioning on all the time instead!

[SallyintNorth]

or the fact that at present its urrrr too windy for the turbines to turn???
Whats that all about?

When we were looking into a turbine on our farm, it was explained to us that there are various designs and it is important to choose the type most suited to your local conditions.

If your site is averagely windy you probably do best with a certain type (sorry can't remember the different types and names) but the downside is that they cannot work in winds above a certain speed.  Some fold up or back their blades to avoid damage.  If your site is very very windy and/or gusty then you should have a type that can handle higher speeds / gusty winds (though none of them is very efficient in gusty winds), but the downside is that they are less efficient at lower wind speeds than the first type. 

I think most of them need to stop and protect themselves at the 70mph gale winds we've been having the last 24 hours...

[mab]

And aircon does use a LOT of power.

or the fact that at present its urrrr too windy for the turbines to turn???
Whats that all about?

Mandy  

Ah well that's just physics:- the power harvested by a windmill is proportional to the CUBE of the wind speed; i.e. if you design a mill to produce 10Kw in 10mph winds, then, if the wind reaches 100mph, your mill will be harvesting 10,000Kw - it'll either fly apart or burn out (or both). If you fitted a generator big enough to handle the strong winds, then it'd be too big and heavy to be turned by the normal winds. Hence they just to shut them down and feather the blades in strong winds.

I know this 'cos I'm trying to build a wind genny for my off-grid system - it's not easy.  

Coley, I think we are close to agreeing re: nuclear - there's going to be a need for some nuclear in the near future - I don't like it and, personally would prefer a more radical energy consumption reduction strategy - but that's not going to happen.

As for the wind farms; well I still think they should be increased to a practical maximum (we're not there yet) as they are the more established renewable source. So I support the current drive to build more.

personally I don't see some minor scheduled blackouts as a disaster - in fact, the sooner they start them the sooner people will appreciate the need for conservation.

When I used to work as a physicist I was constantly frustrated by people who were intelligent and 'aware' of environmental issues who still couldn't be bothered to make an effort to save energy. I got into one argument with a colleague who wanted the aircon left on in a lab that wasn't going to be used until a new job came in  "in case a new job came in".  I pointed out that it only takes a day to stabilise the temperature and it takes several days for a job reach the point where work actually starts - so I won that argument in the end and turned the aircon off - it stayed off for 3 months before a job came in requiring that lab. The trouble is I was the only one turning the things off - most other people didn't see the point if they weren't paying the bills.

bah Salliy'i'nth - you beat me to posting about high winds - Oh well 

[SallyintNorth]

personally I don't see some minor scheduled blackouts as a disaster - in fact, the sooner they start them the sooner people will appreciate the need for conservation.

I absolutely agree.  At the moment everyone seems to think that they should have what they want whenever they want it.  That applies to any electrically-driven equipment as much as to what were once seasonal foods.

Having even a very low level of regular blackouts will start to raise awareness that everything does not need to be on all the time.  And educate people to plan a little more about when they use their electrical equipment.  I had a bit of an epiphany some years ago when looking at an off-grid property.  "You soon learn that if the wind isn't blowing then it's not the day to do the washing.  So you just put that off until you get a windy day."  Makes sense too, as you want a wind to dry the clothes after you've washed them.

[Mays]

personally i do not like them, but i do understand we need change.

Infact we sold our last croft as it was sighted immediately ajacent to a proposed Wind Turbine Development. 2 years on I am so glad we sold up as the turbines now dominate the landscape & give the whole area an eary feeling with now 13 of them loom in every direction from that property, and I heard this week the direct neighbour is intending building another 4.