Your Country House competing against Electric Line?
Is your RURAL home ISOLATED from the electric line?
Small renewable energy are only profitable off-grid, as they have small size, need accumulation and can not be simultanousely from different sources.Do you doubt to connect your FARM to the MAINS?
The electric line is more cost competitive in kWh per variety in the mix of generation, for economies of scale and no need to accumulate electricity.
Variety in the mix generation.
Large networks can provide low cost electricity because they have several technologies that can be supplemented according to needs and best opportunities:
- Nuclear. - They produce at low cost kWh, although little suited to the demand. Radioactive waste and nuclear risks are still unresolved issues.- Fossil fuel power plants (oil, coal, gas, etc..) – They can start and stop, emitting much CO2, but they are the realistic basis in most countries.
- Large Hydropower. - Very competitive cost per kWh depend on the seasonality of water resources and can start and stop fairly easily.
© Guerito 2005 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
- Great Wind Power. - Mills produce electricity when the wind blows, at an increasingly competitive cost , but they not adapted to the demand curve.
- Other: Biomass, Cogeneration, Solar Thermal, Photovoltaic, etc. - They are technologies that still provide little % energy to the whole network.
Therefore, each country has a mix of electric generation, with different technologies that work together to get a cost competitive kWh.
Economies of scale
Any of the means of generation of electricity for the grid have a leading feature: its large size. This large dimension allows them to obtain a significant economies of scale in large centralized electricity production. Small domestic installations of renewable energy can not compete against these big facilities in cost per kWh.
Production along all day
The mix of electric generation, all together, adapts timely the kWh production to electricity demand of the whole citizens, businesses, etc.. No need to accumulate electricity.
But for an autonomous system of renewable energy, electricity must be accumulated for the night or when the renewable source (sun, wind, etc) is not available. And I have explained in other posts that accumulate in batteries is expensive.
When installing renewable energy in my home or farm?
If the grid electricity is cheaper and available to any autonomous system, in which circumstances install renewable energy to generate my own electricity?:
A.- When you are completely isolated from the network and can only produce electricity with a fuel generator. Small renewable energies can be then profitable.
B.- If you are connected to the grid, “re-main” still with the mains even if you don’t want. It is your cheaper option. You can not compete against the grid cost.
C.- Your are connected to the mains but, nevertheless, you want to install a photovoltaic or small wind for a few hours a day, keeping the line. Make sure your self-consuming during few hours of the electricity you generate leaves more economical than grid price. And do not expect subsidies because all states are running out of funds.
My conclusion is clear:
If you have power line, forget about renewable energy (up to now).
If you are isolated, go for clean and profitable renewable energy!
Do you think the economic criteria should be more important than the ecological criteria if YOU pay? Thank you for opinion.
Related articles
- Rural Renewable Energies for FARMERS
- Renewable Energies are fashion…or not
- Publis Aids for Energy Needs, not for Business
- Renewable Energies are Rural, not Urban.
- Ecologist, Idealist, Realistic and Financier.
- How to save on Solar Batteries (and 10). Conclusions
- Study: alternative energy has barely displaced fossil fuels (arstechnica.com)
- Harnessing Renewable Energy in Nigeria (odinakadotnet.wordpress.com)
- German Policy Could Make Solar In America ‘Wunderbar’ (thinkprogress.org)
- From Denmark to Kenya: Wind power fuels renewable energy (r)evolution (sustainablefutures.info)
Tengo una pregunta para vosotros:
Hay algun tractor que funcione a biogas, el objetivo del mismo es tratar de generar el combustible del mismo para seguir con los laboreos de la tierra, como tambien seguir funcionando en caso de colapso en los sistemas de distribucion de combustible.
El biogas se puede hacer en los establecimientos agropecuarios, con estiercol de los animales,humano,como tambien residuos de granja y desechos organicos.
El problema que se plantea es lograr plantas o kits de purificado (depositos de gas,filtros, decantadores,manometros, compresores de biogas y envases de gas presurizado) envasado del mismo en el lugar de elaboracion.
Todo tiene su costo, como tambien los fletes, proveedores en tiempo y forma, como tambien preveer fallos y formas de rapida reparaciones en el menor tiempo posible (red de provision de repuestos).
El beneficio seria para todos y la sociedad en su conjunto garantizando un abastecimiento de productos basicos a mas bajo costo,(por ser autogenerados los insumos de generacion en combustible,tanto para traslados,generacion ,elaboracion) como tambien radicar mas gente en las zonas productoras de alimentos.
Que es ya por demas elocuente y constatado de la gran emigracion de gente de las zonas productoras de alimentos a las ciudades de la cual no regresan.
Se esta perdiendo personas con experiencia y conocimientos que no son reempladas de forma eficiente ni hay transferencia de conocimientos a las futuras generaciones, por que la juventud no tiene interes o hay otras ofertas mas
tentadoras en el mercado.
A lo cual nos da un futuro desgraciadamente; de una muy posible carencia de productos basicos para las ciudades por falta de produccion de los mismos.
A lo cual hay que sumarle las bajas de produccion por el cambio climatico, variaciones extremas de condiciones ambientales, tanto es asi que la misma naturaleza esta confundida en las diferentes estaciones.
Las presentes cuestiones son amplimente constatadas por la gente de medio rural, a lo cual muchas veces la gente de las ciudades desconoce por los problemas que tienen y el apresurado trajinar diario que llevan.
Desde ya muchas gracias.
Julio.
Hola Julio, Muy interesante tu aportacion de un TRACTOR con BIOGAS. Busca un post que he escrito el 22 de Mayo sobre un Tractor electrico con soporte de un generador con biocarburantes, que imagino que tambien podria ser con biogas. A ver si los fabricantes de tractores se animan!!