Sir, – I read of Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan’s proposal that electricity suppliers using wind turbines are to be paid for “curtailed” production which “potentially” they could have supplied, but which the grid couldn’t accommodate (“Wind farms to get paid for electricity they do not supply”, News, April 14th).
I don’t see how paying good money for electricity we can’t use makes any sense or will lower electricity costs for the consumer.
Where will the money come from to pay this compensation? Ultimately from the customer, in the form of increased bills.
Renewable energy now has the potential to produce 100 per cent of our electricity needs at a point in time, but the need for stability in the grid prevents that 100 per cent being used, so generated renewable electricity is essentially being lost.
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Isn’t in time in this journey into renewable energy that serious efforts were made around storage of excess renewable energy that could be used later when renewable output falls?
Numerous possibilities have been discussed, besides battery storage, such as hydrogen, underground storage of compressed gases to drive turbines as needed, or even good old fashioned kinetic energy, with heavy weights lifted up hills when excess energy is available and released to drive generators when it is not.
With the increasing penetration of renewables, it is vital that back-up storage be built to cater for downturns in renewable output.
It makes more sense to use public money to build storage capability than simply compensate generators of renewable energy for electricity we can’t currently use.
Simple compensation means the money is gone. Building storage using the same money strengthens the renewable sector and helps stabilise the grid.
Personally, I’d prefer to see my money used to build storage capacity than simply handed over to electricity generators for their “potential”.
The Minister needs to have a rethink. – Yours, etc,
DAVID DORAN,
Bagenalstown,
Co Carlow.