Financial tail wagging the energy dog?

[AE-NMidlands]

I remember someone commenting that lots of renewables were being planned so that they could be sold on at a profit, rather than simply operated. This would seem to be borne out by a paragraph in the BBC news item https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland- ... s-57510870

The massive green power projects stuck in limbo

which says

Pumped storage hydro schemes are renewable energy projects with the potential to help Scotland - and the rest of the UK - cut carbon emissions and hit climate change targets, according to developers.

Planning consent has been secured for new multi-million pound schemes in the Highlands and the south of Scotland, and permission is being sought to expand Argyll's Cruachan power station.
But it is decades since a new scheme has been constructed in the UK, and none of the projects have yet progressed beyond the planning stage. Why is building work on hold - and what are the prospects for the future?
/snip/
Meanwhile, a buyer is being sought for a £250m scheme at a former opencast coal mine in the south of Scotland.
The project at Glenmuckloch near Kirkconnel in Dumfries and Galloway was approved more than four years ago.

Early in the article it says that

Developers argue the current energy market does not have the mechanisms to make such major projects attractive to investors.
In addition, they cannot bid to sell electricity through the UK government's Contracts for Difference auction system, which offers 15-year long contracts.
In a report for Scottish Renewables published in March this year, experts suggested the creation of a new market for pumped storage hydro would be the best solution to unlocking its potential.

It is so frustrating when important infrastructure stalls because a "market" hasn't been fabricated.

[dan_b]

This is kind of what happens when Government fails to provide investment in national infrastructure having sold off the entire system for profit.

[Mr Gus]

*Cough*
National lottery money, creating NRG is the way it ought to be, smaller community & group (village & town investors) wind farm monies, Hydro monies, Solar monies, to encourage owned localised industry, giving a few thousand quid to a wee group that has to work the paperwork for 10 months to get a drip of cash through, compared to resolving fuel poverty which would help alleviate a lot of societal problems.

https://www.camelotgroup.co.uk/news/cam ... l-results/

10 June 2021
- National Lottery sales break £8bn barrier for the first time, despite pandemic impact -
- £1.2bn of funding awarded to respond to COVID-19 by National Lottery Distributors -
- Money raised for Good Causes by National Lottery players exceeded £5m per day -

NB: operating costs cited as "around" 4% of total sales.

Now is the time to create the GREEN LOTTERY & Bump start bigger projects underwritten by the govt

Tell me this is not "do-able"

Just no solar roads FYI.

[dan_b]

Aah, good old "solar freakin' roadways" - haven't heard much about any of those for a while. A bit like the "wind turbines installed alongside the edge of motorways that don't need the wind as they're powered by the passing traffic turbulence. Right oh...

[nowty]

Well the government is going to announce that £15 billion of Green Bonds will be issued via National Savings.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-57670057

https://www.investmentweek.co.uk/news/4 ... ic-reports

But me thinks better returns will be made by directly investing into all this renewable stuff. This ones not for me, but for the faint hearted, I'm sure they will be snapped up.

[smegal]

I remember someone commenting that lots of renewables were being planned so that they could be sold on at a profit, rather than simply operated. This would seem to be borne out by a paragraph in the BBC news item https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland- ... s-57510870

The massive green power projects stuck in limbo

which says

Pumped storage hydro schemes are renewable energy projects with the potential to help Scotland - and the rest of the UK - cut carbon emissions and hit climate change targets, according to developers.

Planning consent has been secured for new multi-million pound schemes in the Highlands and the south of Scotland, and permission is being sought to expand Argyll's Cruachan power station.
But it is decades since a new scheme has been constructed in the UK, and none of the projects have yet progressed beyond the planning stage. Why is building work on hold - and what are the prospects for the future?
/snip/
Meanwhile, a buyer is being sought for a £250m scheme at a former opencast coal mine in the south of Scotland.
The project at Glenmuckloch near Kirkconnel in Dumfries and Galloway was approved more than four years ago.

Early in the article it says that

Developers argue the current energy market does not have the mechanisms to make such major projects attractive to investors.
In addition, they cannot bid to sell electricity through the UK government's Contracts for Difference auction system, which offers 15-year long contracts.
In a report for Scottish Renewables published in March this year, experts suggested the creation of a new market for pumped storage hydro would be the best solution to unlocking its potential.

It is so frustrating when important infrastructure stalls because a "market" hasn't been fabricated.

Looks like there's been a promising update.

https://www.insider.co.uk/news/deal-rea ... e-28160064

Buccleuch and Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners have reached a deal for investment in the Glenmuckloch pumped storage hydro (PSH) and wind farm project in Dumfries and Galloway.

Foresight's energy transition fund is to invest in and then lease the 1,547 acre site, with the aim of bringing the project to fruition.

The project, located at the disused opencast coal mine near Kirkconnel, will see the construction of a co-located 1,600 MWh capacity PSH plant and a 33.6 MW wind farm.

Once constructed, the PSH plant will have eight hours of storage capacity by utilising two 105 MW reversible hydro-turbines, while the wind farm will comprise eight 4.2 MW turbines, giving the ability to power the PSH plant.

https://www.buccleuch.com/landmark-inve ... -galloway/