rhubarbgreen Great Britain & NI, Region: Europe, Renewables, scotland, Use: Electricity, Wind

The Scottish offshore wind farm Donald Trump tried to stop has officially opened today

After years of planning, a large experimental wind farm has been built off the coast of Scotland. Named the 'European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre' (EOWDC), it's been funded by Swedish company Vattenfall and was officially opened today (7th September 2018) by the Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon. The wind farm was opposed by the now-US … Continue reading The Scottish offshore wind farm Donald Trump tried to stop has officially opened today

rhubarbgreen Great Britain & NI, Region: Europe, Solar, Use: Electricity

On Sunday afternoon, UK solar generated more electricity than any other single source

Electricity generated by solar panels on fields and homes outstripped all other single sources of energy yesterday afternoon, in what looks to be a historic first. The UK isn't known for being a sunny place, and in terms of renewables it has more of an association with wind energy. Yet for around three hours, solar … Continue reading On Sunday afternoon, UK solar generated more electricity than any other single source

rhubarbgreen Armenia, Caucasus, Energy History, Energy security, Energy Trilemma, Region: Europe, Region: Middle East, Turkey, Use: Electricity

Armenia’s forgotten interconnector

Look at the ENTSO-E grid map for Europe and you'll see an oddity. Turkey and Armenia, which have tense relations and a closed off border, apparently share an electricity interconnector. This means that their electricity grids are physically connected, and they can theoretically import and export electricity. How is this happening? Has the need for … Continue reading Armenia’s forgotten interconnector

rhubarbgreen Gas, Region: Europe, The Netherlands, Use: Electricity

Europe is facing a gas problem that can’t be solved with LNG

Gas networks in NW Europe (but not the UK) are generally divided into L-gas (low calorific gas) and H-gas (high calorific gas). The dependence on one large field for L-gas is becoming apparent, and with this field facing production restrictions, problems may occur before the L-gas networks can be converted into H-gas networks. Using H-gas in L-gas networks is unsafe, and many domestic/commercial appliances can only work with a certain range of gas.

rhubarbgreen Affordability, Armenia, Caucasus, Energy History, Energy security, Energy Trilemma, In-depth, Minimal environmental impact, Region: Europe, Use: Electricity

Armenia and the Trilemma

Why am I writing about this? I work for the British government and Armenia is a small country far away. Well, it starts with a project at my work that matches up employees who would normally have never met, to discuss their work and life over coffee. It's called 'coffee connect' and I've met some really … Continue reading Armenia and the Trilemma

Source: American Public Power Association
rhubarbgreen Baltic, Blockchain, Energy Innovation, Energy security, Estonia, Region: Europe

Blockchain & The State

What is Blockchain? I've already posted about this here, but it's worth going through again - at least as a spot of revision for myself. The benefits are clear, as I outlined earlier: Maersk, the world’s largest shipper, faces unique challenges that incentivised it to trial blockchain, claiming that one container hauled from East Africa … Continue reading Blockchain & The State

Wind turbines in Mölsheim, Germany
rhubarbgreen Germany, Great Britain & NI, Region: Europe, Retail Energy Markets, Third Energy Package, Unbundling

UK Labour’s German connection

It's been a while since the last election, and I think it would be interesting to consider some of Labour's manifesto points. The bullet points below (p20) outline party policy from their manifesto. Their aim was to deliver increased renewable energy, more affordable energy, and greater democratic accountability of energy. I'd like to focus on the second sub-bullet point … Continue reading UK Labour’s German connection