Cost of Living Crisis

The problem with fracking (and nuclear fission for that matter) is it takes a long time to develop and is very expensive. The only people seriously interested in these technologies are the big energy companies that can make a profit from them whilst electricity prices are artificially high, due to the electricity price being based on gas.

What we need to do is invest more in wind and solar, primarily. The intermittent supply issues, with wind and solar, can now be managed using grid storage (as well as smart home storage). Add to that a little bit of hydro, plus the development of tidal and we can have enough cheap energy to supply the UK and more. We also need to invest in nuclear fusion technology, as this may eventually be the main source of cheap energy in the future.

 

The Cuadrilla fracking, in the Bowland shale rock, were just test sites, to try and establish the suitability and cost effectiveness of fracking in the UK. As you may be aware UK shale rock is very different to that in the USA. UK shale seems to hold less gas, due to its age, and it is full of faults.

Fracking, in the UK, ended primarily due to the fact it wasn't economic. The recent surge in gas prices may have changed those economics, but I would be amazed if anyone wants there energy prices to be tied to rising gas prices. We need to move away from expensive technologies.

With regard to lithium batteries, you raise a valid point about their eco friendliness, but it is a technology that is rapidly advancing and grid storage is much more than just lithium batteries. The 5% figure you quoted, for lithium batteries, may be the current position (and it will not be even 5% in the UK), which considering lithium batteries are 100% recyclable is appalling situation to be in. However, the UK now has its first company (opened a few months ago) achieving 100% and I'm sure more will follow.

Regarding solar panels, they cannot be sent to landfill in the UK, they have to be recycled although, in the past, recycling has not been 100% effective (that is changing now). With an estimated average lifespan of 30 to 40 years for modern panels, we have not had to recycle many panels so far, so we do need to significantly upscale our recycling capacity to deal with future volumes.

The bottom line, though, is that the cost of wind and solar is a tiny fraction of the likes of gas and nuclear and the immediate priorities need to be to bring down energy costs and attain energy self sufficiency, both of which can be achieved with wind, solar, hydro and tidal, plus grid storage / smart home storage.

The UK has been procrastinating, over energy, for far too long. The current energy crisis is now forcing the issue.

As you may have noticed, from posts on 'UK Energy Needs' thread, I have been researching energy intensively over the last couple of years, as part of a personal project to realign my own energy usage.

I've had to factor in:

1. the current UK energy market;
2. the direction of the UK energy market;
3. the impact of the UK government;
4. external factors (notably, the impact of Russia); and
5. current and emerging technologies

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What I have discovered so far is:

1. we waste energy;
2. we are not doing very much about 1 above;
3. we have no (or very little in the way of a) energy strategy in the UK (we are not the only ones);
4. we allow the major energy companies to dictate our energy markets, which drive us towards the most profitable options for them, rather than what is best for UK consumers;
5. Gas for home heating is an outdated technology that should have long gone;
6. Hydrogen is not the answer;
7. There are lots of existing technologies that will improve the situation, IF WE ALLOW THEM TO;
   
8. There are lots of emerging technologies that will improve the situation, IF WE ALLOW THEM TO;
9. My house was not built with energy efficiency in mind; and
10. No matter what I do, it will be a far from perfect answer.

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