3 ms·
It is true that we have a lot of hydro power, however it is pretty much fully utilised as it stands (they're talking about hundreds of additional MW when they t
by rekoil 5y ago
It is true that we have a lot of hydro power, however it is pretty much fully utilised as it stands (they're talking about hundreds of additional MW when they talk about expansion, which will not do much in the grand scheme of things), and with all of this additional load, as well as fast ongoing electrification of our vehicles, it seems unlikely that additional wind farms will be able to pick up the slack.
Obviously I'm hoping I'm wrong here, because the alternative is nuclear which is apparently still a no-no word in most political circuits over here, and thus is unlikely to happen. Even if nuclear were to happen, ramping it upp will take much longer than the pace of this additional industry and electrification...
I'm worried we're going to end up in a crisis where we have to build up capacity quickly, and the only reliable and fast way of doing so is through fossil fuels.
- tmikaeld 5y agoAccording to "Energikommissionen"s research, Swedish hydro could be greatly built out with minimal effects on the environment. [0] (2015 article) https://www.nyteknik.se/opinion/dags-att-bygga-ut-vattenkraften-6344594 https://www.nyteknik.se/opinion/dags-att-bygga-ut-vattenkraf...
- rekoil 5y agoI found that article as well, it cites no numbers, and according to Vattenfall the plan is for an additional 600MW by 2023... Hardly enough given everything discussed here. https://group.vattenfall.com/se/nyheter-och-press/nyheter/2019/600-mw-mer-effekt-i-vattenkraften-2023 https://group.vattenfall.com/se/nyheter-och-press/nyheter/20...
- tmikaeld 5y agoYes, because I couldn't find the Energikommissionen official publications any more, same goes for net stability documents being removed from government sites (from 2013).
- whizzter 5y agoI'm actually cautiously optimistic for once, the MP ("Greens") rage-quit out of the administration opened up for S to skip the MP imposed blockade of the long-term storage decision. If that finally gets done it at least removes some uncertainty if any company wants to start making plans for a new plant (Yes, it's almost idealistically hopeful but the blockade did impose a lot of uncertainty).
- londons_explore 5y agoHydro in general has two metrics that matter. How many MWh can you generate per year (pretty much, how much water falls in a year), and how much MW can you generate at any given moment (ie. How fast can the water come out of the lake at top speed). As the price of electricity varies more and more hour to hour, it becomes worth installing new generators to generate more MW, so you can do all the generation in a short time window to get the best price.
- sandos 5y agoBut there are strict limits as to how much water you can release downstream, too.