Did you need to go all the way to Switzerland to find this out- should have just popped over to Cruachan- they even have a tour and visitors centre where you can learn all about this.

@topnotchpiperdad

17 күн бұрын

I think the Swiss have just invented it?

I don't normally watch ITV news but this caught my eye. I assumed it was some radical new idea the ITV journalists had discovered. Nope. Dinorwig is 40 years old. ITV are just treating us like children.

Cruachan in Scotland does exactly this already.

This is already being done in North Wales the place is called hydro Mountain

@Pikestnt

14 күн бұрын

Dynorwic? It was built in the late 70s

Been done in several places in the UK decades ago. Journalist didn't bother to do any research or wanted an expenses trip to Switzerland!

This is not news. As others have said Dinorwig Power Station has been doing this since 1984

This should really be a public government project done 20 years ago. But the UK government are so useless at managing such infrastructure projects it has to be done by private companies who need to make a profit hence making the energy more expensive for consumers.

@pauljrogers2885

18 күн бұрын

A private company might build for £X pounds and require a gross profit of say 30% which will be taxed. The identical project run by the UK government is likely to cost 3 times as much to build and will never make a profit. So, experience suggests a government project is a massive extra cost to consumers and taxpayers. Look at HS2 if you need an example of a public sector project fleecing the taxpayer in every way possible.

@UberAlphaSirus

2 күн бұрын

@@pauljrogers2885 LOL, and the green taxes.

Two billion quid? That's a bargain in this day and age. The money wasted on the ineffective _Track and trace_ would pay for 18 of them...

Funny there seems to be a similar system in wales. Someone had a trip for just fun.

You've got to wonder why ITN spent money going to Switzerland when they could have reported the same story from North Wales. Nice weekend away for somebody, I suspect.

Won't Nessy get sucked through the system?

@adrianthoroughgood1191

20 күн бұрын

There'll be a filter on the pipe.

@cyclingnut2122

19 күн бұрын

😂 Nessie 😂 just a ploy to get gullable tourists 😂

@kenhickford6581

17 күн бұрын

Lol!.....We've ALL been 'Sucked In' by the 'System'!

@neilanderson841

16 күн бұрын

​@@cyclingnut2122 REALLY?. SO YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN NESSIE!!.

This is a national landmark , absolutely no alteration of the lake

@garysmith5025

19 күн бұрын

Which lake? There is only one lake in Scotland and that's the Lake of Menteith. However, Loch Ness has been the lower end of the Foyers pumped hydro system for 50 years it occupies about 100 metres of the eastern shore and hasn't been a problem, I don't see why one or more additional schemes should be an issue.

We've got some of these in the UK already.

Search Coire Glas pump storage scheme, currently being developed at Loch Lochy.

I worked on a project where we converted an old open cut Gold mine into a resevoir to spin up a hydroelectric generator, and a solar farm to provide power to pump it back to the top when not in use. Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro. Really great way to remediate an old mine and bring life back to it.

We had tide mills across the UK, now they're seen as tourist attractions yet the principle still stands for smaller scale usage

@1tonyboat

18 күн бұрын

There`s a nice one at Woodbridge in Suffolk ....

Pumped hydro is the obvious way to store green energy and the government should prioritise such projects. There are 6 such projects planned for Scotland and these would create 14000 jobs. Installing a HVDC line through the back of the country would allow all to benefit.

I think his quote refers to the fact we should have been building this years ago. Plus we need perhaps 100 more.

We have more energy from the sun than we can deal with? I couldn't believe what I was hearing. For years we've had the oil & petrol lobbies telling us in the UK not to bother with solar panels as we dont het enough sun to make it worthwhile. I still think it should be mandated that all buildings have solar power equipment built into them, not just panels. You can also get glass that harnesses solar power that can be fed into batteries and the national grid. The water battery idea is a good one too. Anything that gives the UK energy independence is a good thing. You only have to look at northern Europe to see how well relying on one source of energy provision has worked out. Renewable energy is the way forward

The government needs to drive this, and also in sand battery infrastructure. The more we can store what we generate from renewables the better, otherwise we will depend on burning gas for foreseeable future.

That'll be a bit of a shock for Nessie...literally! ;)

@tonynicholson3328

18 күн бұрын

It is a monstrous plan!

See Dinorwig near mount Snowdon in Wales

we have this system in Wickow in I reland since the early 50S

@martincantwell2557

16 күн бұрын

Really? Where in Wicklow? Surprised we have anything this clever in Ireland 😅

Why don’t they do this in the Lake District ? Plenty of water there .

I'm sure ITV has a new Loch Ness "news" story every week!

Are we short of hour-to-hour (these 'charge' overnight on cheap energy and work the next day - they're busy) 'balancing' projects? I thought we were adding battery-based ones, and time-of-day pricing would eat into the peak-trough disparity? Projects like these won't really solve UK 'renewables' variability, that happens on longer timescales (winter storms and summer calm) that require much greater amounts of energy to be stored for longer.

This is very old news! Dinorwig hydroelectric generator in Wales has been operating on exactly the same principle for forty years, following a smaller scale demonstration at Blaenau Ffestiniog in the 1950s. Shame on ITV for such poor research for this item.

There's already a plan to add another pumped hydro scheme in Scotland, but even when that's completed it won't make a dent in the amount of energy that has to generated by gas-fired power stations to cover periods when there's almost no wind energy. Pumped hydro is there to cover short surges in demand and to buy enough time to bring other generators on-line.

@SlowhandGreg

19 күн бұрын

The Fins are Storring energy as heat in sand batteries and there's a liquid air battery facility being built near Manchester as well as deployment of Tesla's MegaPack technology, we should be investing in tidal for base load.

@brendanpells912

19 күн бұрын

@@SlowhandGreg We could build the Severn barrage but obviously this will affect the eco-structure upstream and those wading birds and wildfowl will move away and perhaps over decades will be replaced by other species that adapt to the new tidal movements. We could also turn the Lake District into an enormous pumped-hydro scheme if you don't mind seeing the valleys beloved by Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter flooded and villages and farms submerged

@SlowhandGreg

19 күн бұрын

@@brendanpells912 Tidal doesn't mean masses of concrete you can use slow turn wind turbine like propellers. Look up Orkney Tidal System and check this out its another propeller based system Nova Welcomes Grantham Institute Report Nova welcomed a ground-breaking new report that urges the UK Government to take a global lead and put tidal stream energy front and centre of our drive to become a net zero economy by 2045.

@SlowhandGreg

19 күн бұрын

@@brendanpells912 I'm more a small scale devolved mesh network person myself. We have the smart technology to do it. Blade tidal systems are available. I've a thermal store at home a high capacity heavily insulated water tank connected to thermal solar.

@brendanpells912

19 күн бұрын

@@SlowhandGreg Hot water is low grade energy. Electricity is high-grade energy because it is easily converted into other forms of energy and can be transmitted easily over long distances.

Old news, old technology. We have three of these here in South Africa

@garysmith5025

19 күн бұрын

Exactly, we've had them in Scotland for nearly 60 years.

They will build one, then there will be a water shortage 😂😂

The highlands is the most rural part of the uk and they’re doing that it should be protected

@domtweed7323

20 күн бұрын

It's just a few buried pipes and a generator. So far less damaging to nature than a typical road. And it keeps CO2 out of the atmosphere. So it's an environmental bargain. Lots of environmental damage prevented for virtually no construction damage.

@soniawilliams9913

20 күн бұрын

@@domtweed7323 of all places they could put it tho why in such a popular tourist destination

@domtweed7323

20 күн бұрын

@@soniawilliams9913 Pumped hydro is limited by geography. You can only build it where there's massive lakes next to mountains. So lochness is one of the few good locations in the UK. Also, lochness is enormous, and only a small part is touristy. Most of it is just cliffs and tree plantations. Put some pipes under that, and some reservoirs on top, and the tourists won't notice.

@thinfourth

18 күн бұрын

yeah it should built in a town centre

Better ask Nessie first. Does anyone really want to solve the Loch Ness phenomena?. No...better to keep the Loch's secrets and ecosystem the way it is.

Cruachan Been doing this for decades!!!

We have had this in the UK for decades. How is this new technology????? They have it operating in Scotland already. Ffs do a bit of home work.

Sainsbury’s probably have classified files worth more for 2024

This is in fact, a pretty depressing story. When I was a child of 10 or so, in 1970s Scotland, I was told about the solitary Hydro-Electric scheme Scotland had. I immediately said ‘How come there aren’t loads more of these?’. This 51-year-old question from a ten-year-old kid, stands to this day. However, Loch Ness isn’t particularly near where the power is needed…why not use localised wind farms instead? Two-thirds of power generated is lost as heat over the system that takes it from generation to 3-pin sockets. We are SO lagging it’s embarrassing. Take care all.

@garysmith5025

19 күн бұрын

The GB National Grid has average losses of 1.7%, the average loss across the distribution networks is 6%. Where do you get the idea "two-thirds of power generated is lost as heat over the system that takes it from generation to 3-pin sockets" ?

Nothing revolutionary, Loch Sloy Hydro-Electric power station is the same in Scotland, been in operation since the 1950s. Although surely it would be nice to see more of these 'green' energy storage solutions in the future

Topology? I think they mean topography

Hang on,hold your horses has Nessie agreed to this??? Or the Clowns in Holyrood Circus.

OK, lots of comments about this not being new technology. But what that means here is a mature technology proven to be beneficial, and many seasoned professionals available to assist in moving this technology into the mainstream. I hope for all due success for everyone involved as humanity switches from polluting limited energy dependance to clean infinite energy independence.

@adrianthoroughgood1191

20 күн бұрын

Yes, no one is saying it's a new invention, but it is a new project.

Reporters holiday to Switzerland paid for by whoever pays ITV news bills. Whoever you are... you now know that your money isn't being spent wisely. The fact that they don't even mention our native similar systems suggest they didn't even spend their time on the journey to Switzerland doing research.... And I thought the BBC were bad 😅

There is literally nothing new about this tech been around longer than most people watching this.

So, potential private investors want a guarantee from the government that they wont loose money if it fails.... does that mean they will reap rewards if money is made and us tax payers will bail them out if it fails...

Ever checked on how much power from pumped storage. It is very small. We are not Norway

No chance private companies should be involved in this. Its Scottish water and its free...,let it benefit the people not privateers...

@alistairmacdonald2634

19 күн бұрын

Scottish Water ain't free. We pay for it on our Council tax bill.

@alistairmacdonald2634

19 күн бұрын

I do agree with you though. Keep private sector away.

😀😀😀😀😀

ITV are so out of touch these days.

A great idea, but it will never go ahead at Loch Ness sadly, too many EcoMENTAList and EviroMENTALists 😂😂😂

Nessi needs to save his,home from filthy human and there gread

It should be protected from that.

@AdrianMcDaid

20 күн бұрын

Just burn coal then ?

@magickittenz

20 күн бұрын

No, I believe it's a national treasure, it's obviously targeted since there are lots of places and land for an idea that does not invade a fantastically known place, and doesn't bring disruption to this area, that's what I can wholly disagree with it.

@thomasgade226

19 күн бұрын

It is. This will not impact Loch Ness - or Nessie herself

Pumped storage. Nothing new to see her. Move along.

The Royal Society recommend the UK should have 100TWh of energy storage by 2050 (it's currently 39.3 GWh from 4 pumped storage facilities). That's over a 2,500 fold increase. That means building 10,000 pumped storage facilities or 400 every year. A typical pumped storage facility has a 300 to 400m dam built to hold back 10 million cubic metres of water, with a fall to the turbines below of about 400 metres. That's at the same time as increasing wind power generation from 75TWh (in 2020) to 665TWh (in 2050 - these are UK National Grid figures). That's around 100,000 giant wind turbines. And by the time you get to 2050, the 4,000 wind turbines you needed to install in 2025 would have reached the end of their working lives and will need to be buried in landfill, and replaced with another 4,000. It's all impossible and absurd. The cabling and additional structures to connect all this together will essentially require the UK consuming huge amounts of copper and other rare metals for the next 25 years. 1.5 billion tonnes of concrete 42 million tonnes of steel (which is going to need 27 million tonnes of coking coal) 1.9 million tonnes of copper 1.3 million tonnes of zinc 184,000 tonnes of manganese 122,000 tonnes of chromium 56,000 tonnes of nickel 54,000 tonnes of other critical minerals. No doubt all of these materials will be ethically sourced using low carbon processes. Nuclear power would require less than ½ of these resources and Coal power around ¹/10th. The cost will be unaffordable and the skilled manpower levels unattainable. And that is just to eliminate the less than 1% of the global CO2 emissions that the UK is responsible for. So times that by 100 for the whole Earth going Net Zero. Good luck with that.

@garysmith5025

19 күн бұрын

100TWhr of storage is a ridiculous amount and completely pointless, the UK peak half hour demand in the past 12 months was just under 47GW, average demand was 29.8GW, so you're talking about 87 days of storage at peak demand, and 140 days at average demand. That's if there was no generation anywhere on our grid, but the lowest combined renewable and nuclear generation averaged over a rolling 4 week period during the past 12 months was 11.7GW (14th Aug - 11th Sept), so that means the storage would last 118 days and 230 days respectively. You do realise that report was written by two people, one actively pushing for a hydrogen based economy and the other is a battery chemist? As for your claims of "UK consuming all of the current global supply of copper and other rare metals for the next 25 years", complete rubbish. Even if the current 4-5 tonnes per turbine isn't reduced, and it will be because copper is expensive, that's still only 0.5MT over 25 years when global output is 26MT/year, so only 0.08% of global copper supply. For someone who has the word "scientist" in their username, your claims seem to be based on your own fears and misconceptions rather than facts and reasoning.

@garysmith5025

19 күн бұрын

I'll also add that you're about an order of magnitude out on the number of turbines required to generate 665TWhr/year. The turbines being built now are far larger than the majority of the 11000 currently installed, so we'll need between 7000 and 12000 new turbines to reach the UK target.

@OldScientist

18 күн бұрын

@garysmith5025 Maybe the Royal Society has recommended 100Twh because statistically "Wind droughts" where electrical generation runs at 20% of capacity lasting 100 days or more can be expected once every 50 years.

@garysmith5025

18 күн бұрын

@@OldScientist Nope, possibly that might happen in one location but not the entire UK and our coastal water for over 3 months without break. Even if it did, by 2050 we'll certainly have an overcapacity of solar PV, a build out of tidal flow turbines, geothermal, etc. To suggest we need to store the equivalent of 2-3 months worth of total electrical demand is ludicrous.

@OldScientist

18 күн бұрын

@garysmith5025 Is that just your assertion about Britain will never being "dunkelflauted" or do you have some data to support that?

If its like HS2 over Budget and a white Elephant 👎🇬🇧

just make nuclear power plants

@domtweed7323

20 күн бұрын

The first pumped hydro plants were actually built to help nuclear load balance (cause nuclear output doesn't vary, but demand does). Replacing gas with nuclear would still need a lot of new storage (less than with wind, but still a lot).