"Green" policies are destroying this country

ginger22

Electric cars banned by ferry company.

https://ferrygogo.com/havila-bans-electric-hybrid-cars-on-ferries/?fbclid=IwAR11p7YUm2AcOxd13rK5pXE2G0tO3-xh_2HKSM5IUz5T4HbCfvsQYYYqrkc

ps200306

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120214267#Comment_120214267

Seriously, what on earth are you talking about? Anything materially impacting the value of a company has to be reported to its shareholders. It can't be kept secret. The International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes doesn't keep litigation secret either. Here's its super top-secret list of pending cases, including 58 under the Energy Charter Treaty:

https://icsid.worldbank.org/cases/pending

Do you just make this stuff up? I hate to say it, but it makes your spamming of Green Party press releases look like your higher quality posts!

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120215100#Comment_120215100

Fair enough, maybe secret wasn't the right term. The ECJ referred to it as "closed-door private arbitration" and stated that it "violates EU law and must not be used to settle disputes between member states."

https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/10/26/what-is-the-energy-charter-treaty-and-why-is-it-so-controversial

If that wasn't in it, its likely all those exiting would have accepted the moderinisation and remained as signatories. The tweaks that were proposed to it failed to be accepted.

Either way, it looks dead in the water now, and sunset clause notwithstanding, thats no bad thing

The IEA Electricity Market Report for 2023 has just been released and it shows the growth of renewables over the next few years only accelerating while coal & oil continue their decline. Gas will, more or less, remain stable out to 2025 with just a small amount of growth.

Renewables will make up over one-third of the global generation mix by 2025, with an annualised growth of over 9%.

Nuclear output is expected to grow by 3.6% per year on average, mainly due to the increase in Asia Pacific, plus French generation returning to normal.

https://www.iea.org/reports/electricity-market-report-2023

The Executive summary is below if you don't want to read the whole thing

https://www.iea.org/reports/electricity-market-report-2023/executive-summary

Below are the projected changes in electricity source out to 2025

While there are a few places, Asia primarily, still bring the likes of coal plants on line over the next few years, they are rapidly dropping off as renewables in those locations outstrips by a mile in terms of new generation

2022 energy issues in Europe are also looked at. The droughts in Europe which impacted nuclear and hydropower during the year coupled with the well known problems with France's aging fleet of reactors, with the Ukraine war on top of this, meant there was a shortfall in generation over the year. The biggest gains were from solar and wind however

As noted already, the majority of growth over the next few years will be primarily from renewables, this is especially true for the EU countries

The middle east seems to be the swansong for fossil fuel electricity generation

Africa as a whole also looks to be transitioning away from fossil fuels with renewables leading the way

Source: IEA 2023; Electricity Market Report 2023, https://www.iea.org/reports/electricity-market-report-2023, License: CC BY 4.0;

Fantastic numbers for January with our wind farms producing 41% of the country's electricity 💨

They produced 1,479 gigawatt hours last month, which is up 200GWh on the previous Jan and the 7th best month ever. Phenomenal!

https://www.irishtimes.com/environment/2023/02/08/wind-farms-produced-41-of-irish-electricity-in-january/

Its obvious to all concerned, but it still needs to be said

“Irish wind farms protect consumers every day by pushing expensive gas generators off the system and reducing our dependency on imported fossil fuels,” Mr Cunniffe said, “But our families, communities and businesses will remain vulnerable to extreme electricity prices while we are forced to depend on imported fossil fuels.”

One interesting line in this article stood out to me. Apparently Norway is modifying its motor tax system to base it on weight as well as emissions. Looks like they are trying to discourage SUV's. Maybe Ireland will do something similar when the motor tax system here gets overhauled in, I think 2024. Not 100% sure on the timeframe

https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41065883.html

From the Norwegian motor tax site

The amount you have to pay in weight-based motor vehicle tax depends on the weight, the number of axles and the type of suspension system. The weight-based vehicle tax can therefore vary considerably depending on the vehicle. Diesel vehicles must also pay an environmental tax.

It is also cumulative so increases for each additional kg of weight, potentially adding thousands on to the price of a motor.

• 25 % VAT on the car cost above 500,000 NOK. This means that a new EV that costs 700,000 NOK will now cost 750,000 NOK after the added VAT (700,000 – 500,000 = 200,000 NOK. 25 % VAT of 200,000 NOK is 50,000 NOK).
• “Weight fee” (vektavgift) for 12,5 NOK per KG the car weights above 500 kg. This means that most electric vehicles will cost an additional 14,000 to 20,000 NOK in “weight fee”, since this is the weight range for most new EVs.

That equates to 1.13 eur for each kilo

https://thenorwayguide.com/tax-and-fees-on-electric-vehicles/

Its pricey, but the system is designed to still make EV's more appealing than buying diesel or petrol which, before anything else is applied, have a 100,000NOK levy (approx 9,000eur) automatically added. VAT, etc are added on after this which effectively kills the appeal of ICE models

In real terms this means something like a 64KW Hyundai Kona, with a weight of 1760 has the following charge applied

• 1760kg - 500kg allowance = 1260kg set to weight fee
• 1260kg * 12.5NOK = 15,750NOK or 1426eur

Its an interesting way of doing it and a system that still works to discourage ICE models while at the same time rebuilding lost exchequer revenue streams

JRant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120216689#Comment_120216689

Great little blurb at the end. The only problem is that gas prices have dropped significantly. Couple that with all this “cheap” renewable power and we should have seen a massive reduction in the kWh unit cost for consumers. Oh wait, we haven’t and won’t for some time (if ever).

anyway, we are vulnerable to high gas prices because of EU and government policy, not those big meany pants fossil fuel companies.

JRant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120216817#Comment_120216817

Yes, the great Green philosophy of “tax the shite out of everything” approach.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120216877#Comment_120216877

Gas is still a lot more expensive than historical norms. The large scale switch to LPG won't do anything to help that as its the most expensive option in terms of supply

Totally agree as regards marginal pricing. the sooner gas is pulled out of that the better

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120216885#Comment_120216885

Well the motor tax system is going to be overhauled, thats been flagged several times already. It may not happen until the next govt are in power, so will that mean it'll be a "Republican philosophy" then if SF make the change?

Seems pretty clear why they did away with the PHEV grants, they're the worst of both worlds

https://www.irishtimes.com/motors/2023/02/08/plug-in-hybrids-emitting-three-times-more-pollutants-than-claimed-report-finds/

ps200306

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120216689#Comment_120216689

Its obvious to all concerned, but it still needs to be said:

“Irish wind farms protect consumers every day by pushing expensive gas generators off the system and reducing our dependency on imported fossil fuels,” Mr Cunniffe said, “But our families, communities and businesses will remain vulnerable to extreme electricity prices while we are forced to depend on imported fossil fuels.”

The cheek of them. Prices on the days when wind generated the most power were a scandalously high €133.69/MWh. Meanwhile gas prices in January slid to half the level they were at in November, which in turn was half the price they were in August. So we are likely to see wind once again uncompetitive with gas prices very soon. Serious question for the Greenies on here -- when are we going to see wind power capable of paying its way on a competitive basis (in Ireland, not some irrelevant foreign number).

JRant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120216908#Comment_120216908

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2023/0113/1346057-why-are-gas-prices-falling-and-will-my-bills-come-down/

Outlines here that energy prices here show no signs of coming down other than by the "magic" of the market. Wholesale prices down 80% from their peak value, energy prices still extraordinary high.

JRant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120216918#Comment_120216918

No, it'll just be another degradation in our standards of living. Par for the course in this country.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120216995#Comment_120216995

Indeed, it looks like gas prices are back down to low levels

Until you increase the size of the window

Then you realize the prices are still many multiples of historic norms

ps200306

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120217055#Comment_120217055

Then you realize the prices are still many multiples of historic norms

About twice the historic norm, unless you cherrypick a pandemic year or an off month.

More to the point, the wholesale electricity prices from wind power on the windiest days in January were 2-3 times the historic norm:

Wind power is crap value, no matter what way you look at it.

ginger22

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120216689#Comment_120216689

And an add on television by ESB. The lady checking to see if the wind is blowing so she can switch on her dishwasher. Mad third world stuff.

Pa ElGrande

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120218814#Comment_120218814

Also where does the power come from when the sun don't shine and the wind don't blow?: Electricity firms told to drop ‘false’ 100pc green power claims

The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) says the claim, investigated in adverts by Energia but used industry-wide, must be dropped from marketing materials.

It found that customers who signed up for 100pc renewable plans were still receiving electricity from fossil fuels including gas, oil, coal and peat.

tom1ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120218918#Comment_120218918

It’s about time.

I actually started a thread on this back in the day on the lies being peddled to consumers by some companies.

brokenbad

The Greens are deluded.....even in the unlikely scenario that Ireland meets all of its Emissions targets by 2030, it wont make one bit of difference as we only contribute less than 1% to overall global Climate Change. It's the likes of China, USA and India that need to pull the finger out.

patnor1011

Well, it seems that EV will not be the savior of the planet but rather a plunge to more misery. Since our greenhorns like pictures and graphs here is some food for thought...

tom1ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120219465#Comment_120219465

I just watched an Al jazerra documentary from 2020 and it’s a real eye opener.

Called the dark side of green energy it really shows the limitation of green tech and how it’s consumerism that will destroy this planet. Mining the planet to death to build evs, battery’s, solar panels, wind turbines etc will only lead to disaster.

I urge you all to watch:

https://www.aljazeera.com/amp/program/featured-documentaries/2020/9/7/the-dark-side-of-green-energy

Overheal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120219465#Comment_120219465

Those are entertaining graphics if the engine block is made of copper or manganese

Where is the powertrain? Iron? Aluminum? Copper is a **** engine block material.

WesternZulu

I don't think something from a Middle Eastern news network is going to be the most impartial source of information about green vs fossil fuel energy.

It's not like fossil fuels are infinite either so while renewables may not be perfect they're still needed even if you think it's all green washing.

tom1ie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120221741#Comment_120221741

Yeah but I don’t think they made up the bits about chile, Bolivia being mined to death and China controlling 75% of the global supply of rare earth metals.

Consumerism really is destroying the place- we should be holding onto a car and getting it repaired so it lasts for 30+ years not changing a car every 3 years.

Thats consumerism at its worst.

This should surprise nobody

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/economy/2023/02/10/nuclear-power-is-not-the-right-solution-to-irelands-energy-needs/

Vestas, along with others, have figured out a way to recycle old turbine blades

https://electrek.co/2023/02/08/wind-turbine-recycle-blades/

Vestas, Aarhus University, Danish Technological Institute, and epoxy maker Olin have developed a novel process that can chemically break down epoxy resin into virgin-grade materials. The four industry and academic partners formed a coalition called the CETEC project – Circular Economy for Thermosets Epoxy Composites – in May 2021.

Lisa Ekstrand, vice president and head of sustainability at Vestas, said:

Until now, the wind industry has believed that turbine blade material calls for a new approach to design and manufacture to be either recyclable, or beyond this, circular, at end of life. Going forward, we can now view old epoxy-based blades as a source of raw material.

Once this new technology is implemented at scale, legacy blade material currently sitting in landfill, as well as blade material in active wind farms, can be disassembled and reused. This signals a new era for the wind industry, and accelerates our journey towards achieving circularity.

Gas and Nuclear may not get to keep the "green" label if this succeeds

https://www.euronews.com/green/2023/02/10/we-will-fight-this-label-in-court-greenpeace-to-sue-ec-over-green-category-for-gas-and-nuc

Greenpeace will take the European Commission to court over its decision to include gas and nuclear energy in the EU's list of investments that can be labelled as "green", the campaign group said on Thursday.

Under European Commission rules, certain nuclear and gas investments are deemed climate-friendly.

This is in addition to several national govt's threatening legal action too so there will likely be further groups either joining this case or kicking off their own challenges to it

More climate cases are popping up against companies connected to pollution. This one is taking a different approach though, its going after the Directors of Shell, rather than Shell itself. Will be interesting to see how this plays out. If it succeeds I think you'll see a major shift in boardrooms, towards more climate friendly actions

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/09/shell-directors-personally-sued-over-flawed-climate-strategy

The directors of oil major Shell are being personally sued over their climate strategy, which the claimants say is inadequate to meet climate targets and puts the company at risk as the world switches to clean energy.

Environmental lawyers ClientEarth have filed the lawsuit against the 11 directors at the high court in England. It is the first case in the world seeking to hold corporate directors liable for failing to properly prepare their company for the net zero transition, ClientEarth said.

ClientEarth, which has a token shareholding in Shell, is suing under the UK Companies Act, and is supported by a group of large pension funds and other institutional investors. It argues a global transition to low-carbon energy is inevitable as world governments act to end the climate crisis and that Shell’s failure to move fast enough threatens the company’s success and would waste its investors’ money on unneeded fossil fuel projects.

The UK and Japan are the last 2 major economies left in the ECT (Energy Charter Treaty) and there's a push on now in the UK to get it to announce its withdrawal

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/10/uk-must-quit-climate-harming-energy-charter-treaty-experts-say