DIY power is not far away (From Harrow Times)

DIY power is not far away

9:39am Thursday 6th November 2008 in Search

A report in last month’s newspapers (Metro, Friday, September 26) revealed that the National Electricity grid would be going into November with a margin of around only 1.5 per cent of peak demand. While the National Grid company’s representative indicated that he believed this was sufficient to cover contingencies, an analyst consulted by the paper thought power cuts were a risk should a major power station suffer a serious failure.

During the past year many areas suffered an unprecedented day of power disruptions when the grid failed to absorb the disturbances caused by faults at two power stations.

Meanwhile, over the past four years electricity prices have risen by a factor of two or more.

At privatisation, the generating and grid companies inherited an exceptionally well engineered electricity system. Since then, it would appear the low electricity prices charged until a few years ago were paid for by money not spent on new generating plant, and by running older stations into the ground and closing them.

Gas is a premium energy source. It can perform so many vital tasks at the consumers’ premises that burning it in power stations is a waste and hastens the depletion of the UK’s gas reserves. However, in recent years the significant investment has been in gas power generating stations. Several commercial consumers have already seen the way forward. Michelin tyres supplies a significant part of its Dundee factory from wind turbines at the site. Ford’s diesel engines are assembled in a unit powered by the wind at its Dagenham factory. To the south of London, Ormiston Wire meets a significant part of its consumption from a solar roof and wind turbines and enjoying energy bills significantly lower than its competitors.

Here in Harrow, the bachelor flat which has been the test bed for our own little research project is coming to the end of its second summer period of supplying all its own electricity by on-site renewables. The design and installation were done by a local electrician and by building the system in stages, there was no need for recourse to grant aid.

While it is possible to choose the name which appears on the gas or electricity bill, the competition would appear to be largely illusory, as the various suppliers all draw electrical energy or gas from the same pot. Often the price differences come down to some marketing offers, dressing up costs in different ways or from how many people are there to answer the phone. In contrast, the renewables offer the prospect of the big companies facing real competition as customers start doing it for themselves.

A task facing a Green government is the reform of the present grant regime needed to start this real competition in the energy industry. It is wrong that grants are not available to help do-it-yourself innovators with the material costs. A self-built system realises a significant saving on installation costs. Further, it is not fair that the grant system won’t support endeavours like our Harrow system where energy harvested is stored to help it ride out the good and poor generating periods.

Renewable energy technologies at this scale lend themselves to mass production, giving the promise of falling prices as the manufacturers start to recoup their research and tooling costs. Grant aid or no, the time may come where these devices are as common as satellite dishes and TV aerials, and the idea of having to pay someone else by the unit for all one’s energy is regarded as rather quaint and old-fashioned and, as the sun and wind send no bills, a little soft in the head as well.

Rowan Langley
Harrow Green Party