The £200 Billion Bill for Upgrading the Grid for Net Zero; that would be about $1.5 TRILLION for the US

The estimated cost of upgrading the UK grid for Net Zero is about £200 Billion, which would be about $1.5 TRILLION for the US

By Paul Homewood

 

Billions have already been spent integrating wind power into the grid.

That spending was a freebie for Owners, because their highly subsidized, expensive, variable wind (and solar) outputs could not be fed into the grid without a fleet of quick-reacting power plants to counteract the ups and downs of wind (and solar), and fill in to meet demand during their insufficiency and absence, including during the peak demand hours of late-afternoon/early-evening, on a less than minute-by-minute basis, 24/7/365, year after year

But that spending was just a drop in the ocean to what is now needed 

National Grid has set out how industry, government, and the regulator can take immediate and decisive action to enable the decarbonization of the UK power sector by 2035.

The recommendations set out in ‘Delivering for 2035: Upgrading the grid for a secure, clean and affordable energy future’ are critical to realize the scale and pace of the transformation needed over the next decade.

Significant progress has already been made towards transforming the UK’s power system, with a huge expansion in wind and solar systems, on land and offshore, at enormous cost/kWh, as well as substantial investment in expansion/augmentation of the UK electricity grid

This has already led to UK households having the highest electricity rates in Europe.

That "honor" used to go to Denmark and dysfunctional, de-industrializing Germany.

But fully decarbonizing the power sector by 2035 will require $more $urgent $action from industry, government and the regulator.

If the UK can get this right, the prize is significant.

That is a big IF

Not much has been going "right" in the UK during the past few decades.

All has gotten much worse after BREXIT

Addressing these priorities will collectively deliver continued poor grid stability and further increases of  household electricity bills.

Such ineffective, wasteful "investment" in the UK would 

1) Make all of the UK less productive

2) Lower UK living standards,

3) Make the UK even less competitive on world markets

National Grid’s five priority actions set out in the report are:

1. Reform the planning system, centered around a strategic clean energy vision.

  • As an immediate step, finalize the National Policy Statements by the summer, ensuring they provide clarity and certainty to support urgent delivery of net zero infrastructure.

2. Ensure the regulatory and governance framework is set up for delivery.

  • Review the current suite of regulators’ objectives and duties and clarify roles and responsibilities across the institutions accountable for the energy transition.

3. Transform how clean energy connects to the grid, accelerating Net Zero projects.

  • Shift from a ‘first come, first served’ to ‘connect or move’ connections process.

  • Develop strategic ‘capacity hubs’, enabling a more coordinated and innovative approach to connections.

  • Create a fast-track connection route for critical net zero projects, prioritising those areas where the economic value could be greatest.

4. Put communities and consumers at the forefront of the transition.

  • Deliver a consistent community benefits framework that ensures local people secure real value for hosting critical net zero infrastructure. Hosting? The visuals of wind and solar are enormous 

5. Develop supply chain capacity and a skills pipeline across the country.

  • Deliver a targeted package of incentives to attract potential clean energy manufacturers and training providers to locate and expand sites in the UK.

.

John Pettigrew, National Grid PLC Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The UK has made significant progress in decarbonization over the last decade.

But today, we all stand at a critical juncture, i.e., to foolishly continue throwing more money into the black money pit, or to finally smarten up and go nuclear

The scale of the transformation needed over the next decade and beyond is a level not seen for generations with a far greater level of investment needed over a much shorter timeframe.
All that would be avoided after finally giving up tilting at wind mills.

Incremental change will not be sufficient – we need a transformative approach, and we need it now, because if we don’t, rise to the challenge the world will end

“We believe the five priority actions we have set out today can drive our energy transformation, bringing with it a huge boost in the inefficiency of the economy, more unemployment, higher household bills and worse reliability of electric service

“National Grid is already playing its part in investing in clean energy infrastructure and transforming the UK’s energy system to make sure it is fit for the future, investing more than £16 BILLION in the five years to April 2026 to subsidize the upgrading of the UK grid and subsidize owners of additional wind and solar systems

“We are committed to working with government and the regulator we focus on delivering a clean, fair and affordable energy future.”

https://www.nationalgrid.com/national-grid-sets-out-urgent-reform-e...

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So we are effectively looking at a cost of £200 BILLION by 2035.

It is presented as “investment”, and “contributing to GDP”, as if it is something good.

But investors will want their money back, and want a competitive return on their investment;

The public, i.e., household ratepayers and taxpayers, will end up paying the bill.

They also talk of 220,000 new "make-work" jobs, but these are a cost that must be paid for, not a benefit.

And the workers who fill these jobs will be taken away from useful work in the PRIVATE SECTOR, which is MORE PROFITABLE, REQUIRES NO SUBSIDIES , AND PAYS TAXES ON PROFITS

That means, the subsidized, make-work GDP will not grow, but likely decrease.

As for energy security and lower bills, I think we all know the answer to that!

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Comment by Willem Post on June 26, 2023 at 3:29pm

Bring the Wagner groups to New York?

Comment by Thinklike A. Mountain on June 26, 2023 at 2:06pm

‘We’re Coming for Your Children’: NYC Drag Marchers Chant Ominous Message at Pride Event
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Maine as Third World Country:

CMP Transmission Rate Skyrockets 19.6% Due to Wind Power

 

Click here to read how the Maine ratepayer has been sold down the river by the Angus King cabal.

Maine Center For Public Interest Reporting – Three Part Series: A CRITICAL LOOK AT MAINE’S WIND ACT

******** IF LINKS BELOW DON'T WORK, GOOGLE THEM*********

(excerpts) From Part 1 – On Maine’s Wind Law “Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine if the law’s goals were met." . – Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, August 2010 https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/From Part 2 – On Wind and Oil Yet using wind energy doesn’t lower dependence on imported foreign oil. That’s because the majority of imported oil in Maine is used for heating and transportation. And switching our dependence from foreign oil to Maine-produced electricity isn’t likely to happen very soon, says Bartlett. “Right now, people can’t switch to electric cars and heating – if they did, we’d be in trouble.” So was one of the fundamental premises of the task force false, or at least misleading?" https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/wind-swept-task-force-set-the-rules/From Part 3 – On Wind-Required New Transmission Lines Finally, the building of enormous, high-voltage transmission lines that the regional electricity system operator says are required to move substantial amounts of wind power to markets south of Maine was never even discussed by the task force – an omission that Mills said will come to haunt the state.“If you try to put 2,500 or 3,000 megawatts in northern or eastern Maine – oh, my god, try to build the transmission!” said Mills. “It’s not just the towers, it’s the lines – that’s when I begin to think that the goal is a little farfetched.” https://www.pinetreewatchdog.org/flaws-in-bill-like-skating-with-dull-skates/

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Hannah Pingree on the Maine expedited wind law

Hannah Pingree - Director of Maine's Office of Innovation and the Future

"Once the committee passed the wind energy bill on to the full House and Senate, lawmakers there didn’t even debate it. They passed it unanimously and with no discussion. House Majority Leader Hannah Pingree, a Democrat from North Haven, says legislators probably didn’t know how many turbines would be constructed in Maine."

https://pinetreewatch.org/wind-power-bandwagon-hits-bumps-in-the-road-3/

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