Electric Car batteries

SL63 Mark

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I saw a massive PR release about Scotland producing all its power on 1 day by renewables, that's great (what about the other 355 days....)
...

I love the idea that the Scots only have 356 days in a year. What do they do on the other 9 days ?
 

Craiglxviii

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I love the idea that the Scots only have 356 days in a year. What do they do on the other 9 days ?
Moan about being colonised by w***ers, I recall from one movie ;)
 

AnthonyUK

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Solar panels are still pretty inefficient with a conversion ratio of 20% at best. That didn’t stop a government grant scheme though with oanels at the time with efficiency figures of 12-13%.
You also have directional requirements to a degree and a storage requirement to make best use if it but it will improve.

I have a relative in Wales with a hilltop sheep farm and they are pretty much energy neutral using small turbines driven by the streams.
 

keefysher

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I'd never say you are wrong because I'm only expressing an opinion and we all know what is said about opinions.
Of course there will be issues as it is the UK and everything is done half-heartedly as the politicians only look as far as the next general election*
If people are sensible and have an electric car for local journeys such as a Nissan Leaf, it can be charged overnight when generally consumption is low. As take-up increases these vehicles will eventually feed into the national grid and I'm guessing we'll see more 'power bank' type devices as prices drop used to store energy.
Battery tech will improve too so charging times will drop and range will increase.

At work, we have been involved in the funding of UK wind farms and we are the cutting edge of technology due to tax incentives.
*We are using the current world leading 8MW turbines where one rotation can power an average UK home for 29 hours.

I like facts rather than opinions. 15MW turbines are the world leading ones for the past 5 years. Unfortunately due to politicians short sightedness UK PLC missed a golden opportunity to create a £85billion industry to get them out first, bit like the strike price for Hinckley Point being over twice what it should have been.

Samsung developed a 15MW turbine first. GE are currently testing their 11MW turbine, with expectation to follow with 15MW. Fujin is the test rig proving them. Unsure the UK is on the cutting edge. In concert with turbines is Blade technology, again the UK may have funded the development for others to profit from it.

EVs are 'power banks'; an opportunity for airports to use their car parks to harvest/store electricity in EVs, or any large car park operator.
 

AnthonyUK

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Sorry. I had no intention to mislead but this was the information I had and the Wikipedia entry appears to confirm this along with these news items.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wind_turbine#Records

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/biggest-wind-turbine-scotland-aberdeen-vattenfall-energy

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43576226

LM Wind Power is owned by global engineering firm General Electric (GE), which announced in March that it hopes to develop a giant 12MW (megawatt) wind turbine by the year 2020.
 

keefysher

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Bit more precise than wikipedia:

https://ore.catapult.org.uk/press-r...advance-offshore-wind-technologies-in-the-uk/

100mts for blades - http://www.eti.co.uk/programmes/offshore-wind/very-long-blades

If we look further to the future then tidal stream is the way to go, not the floating sausages or barrages . However that is an Oil & Gas exterminator in terms of electrical energy supply, so a bit more difficult to swallow at the moment. Check out Open Hydro and their Nova Scotia demonstrator. Not the best device as it can't be yawed to stream if its dropped in the wrong position. But the way to go. That Shell is investing in 'renewables', always found that an odd term given energy is created once according to some old white haired bloke, is encouraging.
 

AnthonyUK

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It still says that 11/12/15MW turbines are being developed and 5 years away so 8MW are the current world leading no, at least in use?
I guess that they are not being UK developed but we are involved, at least in blade design I understand.
 

mercedes13156

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I love the idea that the Scots only have 356 days in a year. What do they do on the other 9 days ?

That's Hogmanay. (aka the New Year Celebrations). A bit like being on the whisky diet. "I've lost four fays already!"
 

sonic

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I was in America for a month earlier this year. I didn't see a single wind turbine.
 

malcolm E53 AMG

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I like facts rather than opinions. 15MW turbines are the world leading ones for the past 5 years. Unfortunately due to politicians short sightedness UK PLC missed a golden opportunity to create a £85billion industry to get them out first, bit like the strike price for Hinckley Point being over twice what it should have been.

Totally agree, yet again U.K. PLC shoots itself in the foot by poor planning and political ineptitude:

Hinckley C- cost to build £20 billion
Generates 3200MBe - 1600 per reactor (twin unit)

Sizewell B - cost to build £2.5 billion
Generates 1200MBe (single unit)

Consequentially when Sizewell B was completed in 1995 had we constructed 8 more units at a similar cost to Hink C the total generating capacity would be 9600MBe (60% more)

It also needs noting that the EDF Hinckley C reactor is testing the boundaries of what is achievable with current tech and materials and the delays to the current builds are largely due to this. Incidentally the optimum design size for a PWR is 60-80MBe as used for naval propulsion and any scaling up of this adds risk so it’s easy to see why the French are struggling with 1600MBe per unit

The cost to U.K. competitiveness of not continuing with our PWR build programme is a national embarrassment again we seem to have thrown away any advantage we had in the nuclear sector by poor energy planning and politics and the results can be seen all around us with local councils, NHS and other public services all in decay

Rant over!!
 

Frontstep

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There is (I hope) an upside to electric vehicles, peace and quiet, I have never been entranced by noisy cars and in particular motor bikes.
 

SRE

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There is (I hope) an upside to electric vehicles, peace and quiet, I have never been entranced by noisy cars and in particular motor bikes.
Spoken by someone who has clearly never ridden a motorcycle in traffic. The noise is often the only thing that alerts sleeping motorists to the bikes presence. My bike with its factory fitted cans is a little too quiet for comfort. The wife's bike with its after-market race can alerts people of its presence without annoying (most) people. Most electric bikes are being fitted with sound systems to produce an engine noise to alert people of their approach.
 

Frontstep

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Well written by me (to be pedantic) who most certainly has ridden many bikes. if I had to rely on the noise they made to overcome peoples stereo's then it would have to be very anti-social.
A friend who had a racing Vincent that you could hear for miles still got knocked off it.

While a loud exhaust may help you to get noticed, there are a few things that reduce its effectiveness as a safety aid. Bike exhausts point backwards so you’re constantly leaving the noise behind you which makes a loud exhaust less effective as an audible warning. It’s not always obvious which direction a noise is coming from. Some drivers, indulge in distractions which make them potentially lethal: loud music (sometimes listened to on headphones/ear buds), mobile phones .
Ask an emergency service vehicle driver how many times their sirens seem as though not working.

some c&p
 

SRE

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Agreed that some stereo's are loud enough to obliterate any external noise and there is never any need for anti-social noise (motorcycle exhaust or stereo) but as I said (typed) in traffic, it alerts road users to the bikes presence. Distracted drivers will always be a danger to other road users but having something that increases awareness of one's presence must be a good thing.
Nothing can make you invulnerable and one must always remain alert and expect the unexpected from other road users but ask those same emergency service vehicle drivers would they prefer not to use their sirens and you know what the answer would be.
 

rorywquin

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There is (I hope) an upside to electric vehicles, peace and quiet, I have never been entranced by noisy cars and in particular motor bikes.

I recently read that they might have to be fitted with some sort of noise generator....too many pedestrians getting knocked over by them......
 

rorywquin

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Agreed that some stereo's are loud enough to obliterate any external noise and there is never any need for anti-social noise (motorcycle exhaust or stereo) but as I said (typed) in traffic, it alerts road users to the bikes presence. Distracted drivers will always be a danger to other road users but having something that increases awareness of one's presence must be a good thing.
Nothing can make you invulnerable and one must always remain alert and expect the unexpected from other road users but ask those same emergency service vehicle drivers would they prefer not to use their sirens and you know what the answer would be.

Pretty sure loud exhausts are not the answer. Bikers are always quick to blame motorists.

There are plenty idiots out on two wheels, passing where they shouldn't, speeding, drifting into the oncoming lane on a bend (because they went into the bend too fast), splitting lanes, passing into oncoming traffic between the two cars....the list goes on....

There must be a reason for all those "to die for" signs directed at bike riders.

Not saying you....just saying....

now off my soapbox and OT rant.:(
 

Frontstep

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On our bikes we are at a significant disadvantage to many other road users, we have little protection the ghastly lycra or leathers despite popular opinion offers little protection they are often just different forms of body bags.
My only surprise is more of us aren't killed.
Making loud noises or wearing bright colours is going to be entertaining on our electric bikes trying to avoid electric cars and lorries roll on universal collision avoidance systems.

It does make you think we need to learn somethings from our deaf members of society.
 


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