The new Department for Energy Security and Net Zero - what should they prioritise?

Any project that promotes and brings about the growth of our country is most welcome. Especially the development of technology to reduce the use of fossil fuels. Perhaps we could ask Gordon Brown for a donation, as he was the one who told us all to buy diesel vehicles. Myself included.

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-energy-security-and-net-zero

• The REA cautiously welcomes the creation of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero;  
• Government must now prioritise collaboration, urgency and certainty, if the new department is to deliver on its goals;
• Recognition of both the climate and energy crises welcome, and the REA look forward to working alongside this department to rapidly scale up renewable energy and clean technology investment and deployment.

I wonder how much investment goes into research and development of nuclear fusion? In 2020 it was £356mil. 

What does the group feel about on-shore wind? 

With right investment and public agreement I think that both offshore and onshore wind are definitely projects for the future.

Also the advancement of the nuclear industry is, for me, a must. As it happens I worked in the nuclear industry for nearly 14yrs. A lot of people still think the industry is not safe. This is no longer the case. Most concerns are about waste. Of course there will always be some form of nuclear industry as long as we need nuclear weapons but that’s a debate for another place.

I don't have a problem with onshore wind.

It is quick to install (depending on local electricity connections) 

If we build the turbines in the right place we should be able to better match local supply and demand.

We do need to be careful when they are too close to homes obviously. 

I don't have a problem in green field areas personally.

I’m all in favour. 

Centuries ago, the landscape was dotted with working windmills. Most of them collapsed after falling into disuse, and now we spend lots of sparse cultural funds on restoring and maintaining the few that are left. Were they considered an eyesore in their heyday?

The noise can be a problem, but this country’s big enough to accommodate plenty of turbines where none of them is within a quarter of a mile of human inhabitation. We also used to see wind-driven water pumps all around the fields here in rural Lincolnshire - I wonder what happened to them?

Perhaps we’re moving towards more local energy-security solutions. The hamlet where I live consists of a manor house, a handful of other dwellings and a load of farm buildings. I could envisage a wind turbine beside and solar panels on the roofs of those barns, coupled with a battery inside one of them powering the whole community completely off-grid. The estate is already considering converting the diesel-powered farm machinery to run off rapeseed oil, one of its main crops these days. All it would take is for the investment costs to come down a lot 😉

Yes, that's why I mentioned with public agreement. There are a whole range of issues involved in siting both at sea and shore. 

Latest priorities from their website

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero will provide dedicated leadership focused on delivering security of energy supply, ensuring properly functioning markets, greater energy efficiency and seizing the opportunities of net zero to lead the world in new green industries.

This year, the department will focus on easing the cost of living and delivering financial security by bringing down energy bills and keeping them down - better insulating consumers from external impacts. Longer term objectives include ensuring properly functioning energy markets, coordinating net zero objectives across government and bringing external delivery expertise to bear on its portfolio of major projects.

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero is focused on the energy portfolio from the former Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

Shame they haven’t mentioned insulating the housing stock. Not very glamorous I suppose? Also more training of heating engineers, auditing existing installations and improving the electricity grid. I hope these are in the BEIS portfolio along with our heat pump trial.

I’d love a wind turbine locally. The countryside is peppered with phone masts which people hate but get used to. 

One piece of action for me would be to “join the dots” on renewables. We have a fair amount of wind generation but nothing to use any excess - apart from exports via the continental links. I am also awaiting a place on the next community wind farm via Ripple which will supplement my solar feeds (hope OVO take up this as a supplier hint hint), so onshore wind farms in the right places would be good in supporting local communities. 
I’m also hopefully that something will be done on tidal sources. I see some comments on a River Severn project which can add into the mix. Together these sources can provide so much more for local consumption if put together with some storage solutions.

On the insulation front there have been some efforts on EPC use (what gets measured can be improved) but this seems quite random at the minute. Many of the improvement schemes seem to run out before those in most need take them up - Green Deal, Solar Support etc , probably because they are not well targeted to begin with. They also seem to attract businesses wanting to make more money by providing a less than ideal service. 
All in all, this new department could be useful but I’m not holding my breath

https://www.britainremade.co.uk/windpetition 

@BPLightlog  We do have energy storage connected to the grid, to soak up spare renewable electricity. We've had a large pump storage station in Wales for many years and we have several battery storage stations across the country, with more being built and planned.

I was in Taunton a few weeks back, and was walking along the River Tone. There’s a weir there called the “Firepool Weir”. 

I thought to myself, why isn’t there some kind of turbine on that weir, and all weirs like it. A constant source of energy in the middle of a town… 

Is it the impact to wildlife like fish?  

There were plans for something like this in Abingdon, near Oxford. It didn't go ahead because the construction costs were too high.

There's another scheme in Caversham, near Reading, that did go ahead. It can generate 46kW. While the output will be fairly consistent, assuming the river level remains high enough, it's expensive compared to solar panels. It cost £1.2 million.

We have the largest battery site in Europe

https://www.zenobe.com/

EDF trade their energy

https://www.edfenergy.com/media-centre/news-releases/edf-and-zenobe-announce-extended-partnership-and-new-battery-trading-an-2

As well as this, we have an increasing number of domestic households with battery storage. 

For a long time we have had some heavy industry shifting their energy use depending on the availability of cheap energy through the day.

There is lots of great work going on, of course it could be quicker and in some cases better joined up, we don't have an even spread of renewables across the country which isn't ideal.