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What Happened to the Energy Revolution

Thu, 06 Feb 2025 09:57:49 GMT

Did someone say "vested interests" of big energy?

“Bill Gates is one of the very few people in the world who set out to create a revolution and lived to see it happen”! So said Amol Ragan as he concluded his interview for the Today Podcast, suggesting that Bill’s vision for personal computers with powerful, inexpensive software had indeed revolutionised the world.

Nearly two decades ago I heard the indefatigable Bristol based energy champion Dave Saunders offer a similar prophecy about an energy revolution; that solar power would also follow Moore’s Law. That is to say, a regular doubling in capacity with only a marginal increase in cost, leading to exponential availability of cheap, fossil-free energy for all. Arguably, part of this is true - solar energy is now cheaper to produce per kW hour than any other source, and the world is generating more than ever before - but it is far from providing cheap, clean energy for all.

Why is that?

Ownership of production has remained largely in the hands of those with little incentive (or frankly vision) to offer energy at the cheapest possible price. Investment for profit means that community benefit is marginal, and those households installing their own solar arrays are predominantly middle-income or higher. Furthermore, lack of subsidies (unlike the billions for fossil fuels), lack of grid connections, complex planning processes, and costly legal frameworks all slow down the process, increase the risk, and push up the cost.

Bill Gate’s top tips for success include a relentless focus on solutions and a set of values that focus on human rather than economic growth. Of course, in partnership with some other brilliant people, he also got rich, but for him that was happenstance along the way and, unlike most billionaires, he is now putting it to good effect through the Gates Foundation.

Of course, we must also pay tribute to pioneers like Dale Vince of Ecotricity and Juliet Davenport of Good Energy who set out to upset the market and compete with the big 5. We should also note innovators like Ripple Energy who have partnered with Octopus Energy to offer a different model of ownership. But no matter how pioneering, innovative or disruptive these champions of renewables are, energy markets are still controlled by those that wish to protect their vested interests and maximise their shareholder returns.

The Government's new energy company GB Energy offers some hope, with community energy groups lobbying hard for government to mandate community ownership of a significant proportion of all new large scale energy projects. The prospect of Local Power Plans hopefully brings with it the opportunity to increase the pipeline of smaller installations.

Hopefully community energy will also go "further and faster" (sic) but somehow I don't think it is yet part of the revolution.

So if you happen to read this Bill, or anyone else who might join our endeavour to break the status quo the feel free to drop me a line.

Darren Hall is a volunteer Director of Bristol Energy Network CIC

Minor floods that could become a major problem...

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 15:49:43 GMT

Can villagers work together to prepare for the future, or are we completely reliant on local and national government?

Unsurprisingly the mainstream media only reports major flooding events, particularly where is loss of life. After all "quarry floods and water freezes on local lane for a week" is hardly headline news. But those travelling around the UK recently are likely to have experienced some relatively minor but nevertheless annoying disruption to their journeys. Indeed, in my own small village of Cleeve in North Somerset, there were at least three separate areas of run-off, leading to really quite hazardous conditions for roads users and pedestrians, including on a major commuter route into Bristol.

A combination of frozen ground followed by significant rainfall and below freezing overnight temperatures meant overflowing streams, standing water, temporary traffic lights, diversions and treacherous ice were a common feature this January. Now the water has receded, we are also left with many thousands of pounds worth of damage to roads and pavements, not to mention the cost to vehicle owners of dropping their wheels into surprisingly large new potholes.

It is all too easy though to herald the onset of spring without setting this winter within the overall context of the longer term. Minor flooding might just seem like a temporary inconvenience, but when a Local Authority comes to assess the damage, the bill will be significant. Of course, each year, it is much easier simply to repair the damage and move on to the next issue. But this overlooks the obvious...if you don't address the cause it is only going to get worse and more costly. Eventually, it might even be in the news.

This was just one of the issues raised at the inaugural meeting of the Cleeve Community 2050 group, a small but growing group of local residents who are concerned about the future of their village. There are short term issues, mainly to do with speeding and parking, but there is also a focus on the longer term, with the recent survey of residents revealing that their two top priorities were protection of nature and climate change.

It is early days for the group, with lots to investigate, piles of rules and regulations to understand and much bureaucracy to contend with. With the help of the Parish Council, our aim is to help Cleeve become the UK's first 'smart living' village.

Change is personal.

darrenehall69@gmail.com (Darren Hall) — Tue, 26 Jul 2022 13:36:49 GMT

What do you do when you have four kids, are plagued by the thought of the climate crisis ruining their future, yet you don’t have any spare money and even less spare time?

You want the best for your kids without making things worse, but sometimes they really want a burger and chips!

I was lucky enough to talk this through with Tanya Williams recently, during an hour-long Smart Living conversation in which she kindly volunteered to participate. We began by working through a very simple carbon footprint assessment to get an approximate idea of where the big ticket items might be, then ranked areas of interest in order of potential impact versus cost, before getting into the realities of Tanya’s day-to-day pressures and priorities. Tanya, with an environmental background, had implemented good practice pre kids but appreciated the time to reconsider where her life was now and what else she could do, tailored to her circumstances.

It is this last bit of the conversation that really stands out, especially when Tanya said as a parent she barely has a moment to read any of the various “five simple things you can do to save the planet” e-news that she is bombarded with, let alone check for greenwash, and knowing her biggest impacts already had significant challenges. (And honestly, a cup of tea and 15 mins of TV would be preferred).

For example, one of her specific challenges is replacing some of the family’s meat consumption with plant-based food when it turns out one of her children is allergic to some of the key ingredients, possibly pea protein, now a staple in many vegetarian and vegan products. When tired after working all day, who would blame anyone for keeping things simple with a big family favourite 'spag bol', despite knowing that beef is one of the most carbon-intensive food products. If you disagree, you probably don’t have four kids.

In her feedback following the session, Tanya told me what a luxury it was to take an hour to chat things through, and not to feel judged for her perceived lack of action or increased carbon footprint since having a family. We were quite quickly able to discount many avenues and identify areas that Tanya felt motivated to explore. For example, their house is already well insulated which means throwing out a perfectly good gas boiler would be a premature and potentially wasteful move despite the fossil fuel it uses. Saving up for an electric car was a long-term need, but how do you make use of a home smart charger to work with their solar panels when you don’t have off-street parking?

The devil is in the detail and it can take hours to investigate and research cost-effective lifestyle changes, especially when faced by so much disinformation and greenwash. So-called experts vehemently disagreeing on almost every issue is beyond the capacity of almost everyone to pick through, and value for money is often a large up-front cost with a long payback, so taking the plunge requires confidence in making the right choice.

Tanya and I both agreed that the real value here was acknowledging the difficulties and reinvigorating her enthusiasm for making small changes that prior to our conversation seemed pretty marginal in the face of such dire climate change news. On the contrary, her leadership role as the mother of a large family could have a huge effect, and the conversation quickly moved on to planning for some bigger changes that could add up over the next five years to a significant improvement in their quality of life at the same time as reducing their collective global impact.

Tanya also commented on the benefit of the conversation being broader than just carbon as we chatted through her feelings about her sense of community, her attitude to politics and power, and her wishes for her children’s education, mental health and development. The endless bombardment of individual issues can be completely overwhelming, especially with each campaign presenting a plausible and compelling reason why their on-line petition is critical. Indeed, that may be so, and Smart Living takes a systems approach precisely because everything is connected, but every time I have an open conversation, without judgement, I learn more about the potential for individuals to grasp specific, personalised opportunities for change that can create surprisingly large ripples in the pond.

If you would be interested, then please email me at hello@smartliving.org.uk . It's good to chat.

Riders on the Storm

darrenehall69@gmail.com (Darren Hall) — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 13:03:34 GMT

A book of warmth and wise words, by Alastair McIntosh

It turns out I have more in common with Alastair McIntosh than I might have imagined, including disagreeing with Rupert Reed! In reality, and I don’t mean to sound obsequious, I found myself in complete agreement with every one of his key points, a few of which I hope to pique your interest.

In systems thinking, a useful question to ask is “how do you know that”; in other words, where did the information come from, and what does that tell you about its validity? It was always a good question, and between disinformation on Facebook and one-sided dog-whistle headlines in The Mail, it has never been more apposite. (Pre-internet, I relied on my mum to answer questions, and it turns out she was often just as economical with the truth). So how do we decide what to believe, and how to act as a consequence?

It would seem that even the brilliantly researched, peer-reviewed and co-authored report such as that produced by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change is insufficiently valid for some people. But it is interesting, to me at least, that many environmentalists lean on their senses for insight; the soil, the oceans, the trees, insects, and the weather can tell us all we need to know sometimes. This is where Alastair starts, on the shores of his home village on the Isle of Lewis and indeed goes on to invite readers to skip the first half of the book altogether if you need no further convincing that the science is clear and that climate change is real, present, and dangerous.

To be fair, far fewer disagree with the IPCC’s findings (openly at least) than 5 years ago. Despite this, as Alastair rightly points out, the scale of the problem is now the biggest facing humanity. In the face of such good science, now so strongly worded, those in power still seem to be sitting on their hands, putting off today even those actions which will be economically beneficial in the longer term. This is why I found Alastair’s focus on the human condition so interesting, coinciding with my own personal journey beyond technological, regulatory, and financial interventions, toward human psychology, community, and faith as the drivers of change.

Throughout his book, I felt immense warmth emanating from the pages. I suspect that even those such as Rupert with whom Alastair has taken issue, would embrace his words as a powerful call to action. They caution against the kind of reactionary rhetoric that so strongly mirrors the obfuscation, lobbying and legal games being played by big business and politicians, offering a sense of purpose that is all the more powerful, in my view, as a bridge to the many who are losing hope, but aren't willing, yet, to get themselves arrested.

This warmth seems to come from Alastair's sense of faith; a source of love, openness, inquiry, and community that can respond to and regenerate our future in the face of such an existential crisis. His book offers readers the opportunity to progress together, thriving within planetary limits, rather than see those limits as framing at best a return to less plentiful times, or at worst, mass species extinction. For it is only when we refute the modern-day belief that capitalism and consumerism are the best routes to health, wealth, and happiness that we will create sufficient common cause to react in time to avert the coming storm.

I loved this book, and hope one day to meet Alastair in person, along with my daughter Isla, named after we visited the Isle of Harris and we wet her head with a bottle of the aforementioned community produced gin (see below!)

(With apologies to Alastair if I have mangled his words, meaning or intent - this is just my take, having put his book down and reflected upon it for a few days. Controversially perhaps, I would suggest starting with this, and then reading Soil & Soul for an even deeper insight.)

2022: Energy Crisis or Opportunity

darrenehall69@gmail.com (Darren Hall) — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 12:53:32 GMT

Is your electric car energy bill giving you nightmares?

Try Octopus Go ( £50 credit referral link) for 2p/mile!

Having been a loyal customer of Ecotricity for nearly two decades, we recently switched to Octopus. I felt bad about it as Ecotricity have done so much to develop the UK's renewable energy sector (plus much more). After much indecision, the recent purchase of our Skoda Enyaq 100% EV meant we needed to swap over to a supplier that could offer us an off-peak tariff for charging the car overnight.

The Skoda is a 60kW vehicle, meaning that if we charged from flat to 100% it would use 60kW of electricity. However, EV car owners will know that you mustn't let them drop below, ideally, 20% charge, and if you want to prolong the life of the batteries it is best to charge to 80% rather than full whenever you can. Therefore, going from 20% to 80% would be 36kW.

Our previous daytime rate was approximately 30p / kW meaning a 36kW charge would cost us £10.80. The electric vehicle database gives the Skoda 283 Wh/miles, suggesting that it will do 127 miles for £10, thats about 8p per mile.

BUT - if you convert to Octopus Go , and use their overnight off-peak rate, this drops to 2p per mile!!! Compare that to petrol & deisel, especially as it pushed past £1.90 per litre, then the savings are astonishing.

Clearly, we are very lucky to have been able to pay out for a brand new EV, plus a home charger that has the capability of linking with our supplier's second generation smart meter (we have a Zappi ).

We also have 4kW of solar on our roof, so by setting our Zappi on Eco+ mode, it will top up the car for free using whatever surplus energy the panels are producing, reducing our overnight usage even further.

It is a huge shame that this sort of system is only available to those that can afford it. If government had pursued a different approach, many more people would have solar on their roofs, millions more kW/hours would be coming from large scale renewables, and fluctuations in wind, sun and waves would seem like small-fry compared to fluctuations in the international gas price.

Anyway - we are delighted with our Octopus GO account, and are happy to recommend it, especially to anyone that has an EV.

And as a little bonus, anyone clicking the link and signing up will get £50 credit, and we will get the same, which we will then donate it to the Love The Future Community Interest Company.

Thanks.

Letter to my unborn child

PAR002_123@heg.com — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 12:42:24 GMT

Hi Bump (now Isla)

With a bit of good fortune I should be seeing you in about 5 months time. I’m over the moon and terrified in equal measure. I have never changed a nappy and I’m turning 50 next year, but when I saw you move on the screen the emotions were unlike anything I have ever felt before; the tears were real and the fear palpable as your tiny beating heart took my breath away.

I’m sorry to say that we are bringing you into a world that I don’t much like. It scares me, it depresses me, it makes me want to hide somewhere, away from the madness of modern life. Despite all the effort and progress, hatred, mistrust, racism, misogyny and homophobia seems endless, instantly transmitted by eager fingers hitting the share button in glee or dismay. Millions are dying in wars across the globe, and the best the so-called leader of the free world can do is tweet his rage whilst hiding his pathetic narcissism behind lawsuits and payoffs. Don’t get me started on climate change, let alone terrorism and genocide.

It isn’t much better closer to home. We sell arms, we protect the rich, we destroy the environment and we justify it all in the name of economic growth. Not human growth, just economic growth, which the faithful think is the same. We are slaves to capitalism at the altar of ego, building a future on the very consumerism that is going to destroy everything that I think is good about the world; trees, polar bears, orangutans, dolphins, songbirds, orchids, butterflies & bees. (Not wasps or cockroaches though). We will be reading books together saying that was what a rhino looked like before it was wiped out by poaching and greed, and re-watching Chasing Ice so that you know what a glacier looked like before they melted.

Just down the road, inequality is so real that teachers are providing hot meals for hungry kids growing up next door to others demanding an upgrade to ''so last year’s smart-phone'. Style advice is dispensed by ‘trend setters’ with millions of followers desperately wanting to know where they bought their fake tan products. I’m saddened to think that at some point you are going to learn about people trafficking, sexual exploitation and rape. That is if you can notice in between the emojis & likes.

But your mum and I are incredibly thankful we are blessed with good health and opportunities, and will be all the more so with you in the world. We’ve got solar panels and bikes and walking boots and I can’t wait to take you to the beach and tell you about how precious the ocean is. I hope you don’t feel bad when we take you to the countryside instead of going to the shops. (I also hope you consider your vote carefully when we tell you how important democracy is, but when all is said and done, who you vote for is up to you). But most of all, I hope we can tell you that the people in power have realised just how precious our world is and begun to reverse the damage that is being done.

I’m learning to have faith in a bigger picture that reaches far beyond our current understanding, and I maintain hope that there is an alternative to our current path, for if not, what is the point of bringing you on this journey. I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to seeing you, but in the meantime, I promise you I’m going to do everything I can to build a better world to share with you.

With love, faith & hope. x

(Originally posted on June 15th 2018 on www.thepaleblue.org)