Energy: EcoGrid EU – big green brother
Wednesday 26 September 2012
 This is your future – or it will be if the EU has its way. And to help it on its way it is pump-priming a 4-year €21 million pilot project called EcoGrid EU, of which over €10 million comes from taxpayers of the EU member states, one of 245 EU energy projects which is soaking up €2.3 billion in tax-funding. Under test in EcoGrid EU is a supply scenario where over 50 percent of electricity is provided by renewables – mainly wind – the volatility creating a nightmare for the technicians trying to balance the system. The response is a "smart grid", where electricity is flexibly priced according to availability, changing at five-minute intervals. The approximately 2,000 residential consumers (of a total of 28,000 on the island) are then equipped with "smart" controllers which allows real-time prices to be presented to them, with electrical equipment pre-programmed to use electricity only when the price drops below a certain level. By this means, we are told, customers can stack the dishwasher last thing at night, but the machine will only cycle when the price is right – perhaps at two o'clock in the morning. In theory, this enables demand and supply to be balanced. Of course, one could do the washing-up manually, after the meal, using (shale) gas-heated water, which might give the windmills a break. That, however, would rather spoil the experiment, which also relies on householders running electric cars and using the batteries to help balance the system by soaking up electricity when demand is low. The incentive for customers is that, having had to suffer the highest retail electricity prices in Europe, each family is now being offered "at least" €100 saving a year. And there we have the "green paradigm" being rolled out. Shortages of essential commodities are engineered, forcing up prices artificially, which are then rationed out on price, driving down consumption to bring supply and demand back in balance. But the greater price paid here is loss of freedom and control – and privacy. There is no guarantee of continuity of supply and the routine control of electricity use is handed over to the supplier, which is able to record what appliances are used, and when. And, of course, when the wind does not blow, not only can individual houses be cut off, the utility suppliers can reach into those houses and switch off whole classes of appliances. That way, our green masters avoid the embarrassment of the lights going out, but it will be only one (energy saving) bulb each, with the television allowed only to receive the party political broadcasts – and the green education. Big Brother cometh, but he is coloured green. COMMENT THREAD Richard North 26/09/2012 |
Domestic politics: insulting the voters
Wednesday 26 September 2012
The ghastly Nick Clegg is, we are told by diverse sources, to warn his diminishing band of party members that they face continued "vitriol and abuse" as the price of keeping the current administration "anchored in the centre ground".
Interestingly, though, while this sensitive soul seems to be concerned that his troops are on the receiving end, when it comes to them dishing out the "vitriol and abuse", they are by no means reticent. Through the course of the conference, we have had Danny Alexander describe those who want the United Kingdom to leave the European Union as "potty" while Lib-Dim MEP Sharon Bowles has criticised right-wing Conservatives and Eurosceptic parties such as UKIP for living in a "1930s fantasy of imperial power". Liberally spraying the epithet, "europhobes", Bowles warns of a "ticking time bomb" that could lead to the UK's withdrawal from the EU, and asks of those who promoted the idea of the eurozone collapsing: "Are they mad?" Insulting the voters, though, is by no means foreign to the Lib-Dim leader, who has been known to call eurosceptics "Xenophobes" and other such delights. When you come to think of it, insulting the voters has become something of a tradition in British politics, so it is perhaps unsurprising that Andrew Mitchell was caught abusing the plod. Generally, if the public is held in contempt, there is no good reason why the filth should be left out. However, if the politicians feel they should be treated with a bit more respect, a very good start might be to treat their own voters in like fashion. But if they insist on insulting the people who don't agree with them, they can hardly complain when we return the compliments. COMMENT THREAD Richard North 26/09/2012 |
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