Guy Visits A MASSIVE Solar Farm | Guy Martin

In his latest series for Channel 4, Guy investigates the past, present and future of British power stations to work out how the country makes its most valuable commodity of all - electricity. In this clip, Guy goes on a trip to see the worlds largest wind farm...how does it all work? To watch the full series, head over to All4: www.channel4.com/programmes/g...
#guymartin #powertrip
Welcome to the only official Guy Martin Proper KZbin channel. Make yourself a cup of tea or twenty & follow every race, every build and every country Guy visits. Fair play.

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[@who_cares__]

Guy's as open to trying new things as he is cheerful, which is more than anyone I've seen yet. What a lad

[@videogalore]

Great to see this type of system being set up, it makes so much sense in an environment with so much demand! As for those skeptical about payback and the impact of creating panels and batteries here, ask yourself what is the payback on a gas or oil boiler and you also need to check the environmental impacts of sourcing/refining the gas/oil being used as a direct comparison - it's never comparing something with nothing, everything has an impact.

[@tomheaden8647]

Could just watch guy working in an army truck shop all day

[@thewhitebackground]

Solar panels on all homes. Trees in all open areas. And tree line all streets.

[@peglux]

I'm an Australian. That is not massive.

[@jaydenritchie1992]

im surprised they dont have magnetifying glass to try focus the little light that would get through the clouds, or is it far fetched that england is always raining?

[@carlthor91]

@Turbo Last Name Eh, no. Please check again.

[@leskennedy]

​@Turbo Last Name your turbo is misfiring.

[@benp9442]

​@Turbo Last Name that Statement is wrong. Turbines do not kill a lot of birds

[@rjmun580]

@Turbo Last Name It is often repeated that turbines kill birds but do you have any verified figures for this? Is there any reason to think that birds cannot see and therefore avoid the rotors? When birds are eating road kill they are always able to judge the speed of my car and move to the side of the road to let me pass.

[@lubbas72]

At war, global heating is the least problem for the world.

[@666t]

That's the spirit

[@donkey1271]

Leconfield is not at war 😂

[@bajabell]

Who made the panels ..... where did they come from ....... who made the wafers of silicon ........ ???

[@nickmclean3051]

Google it lazy

[@Huntbarternsteal]

Solar in sunny England

[@leskennedy]

27kwh today from my average roof. House uses about 10kwh a day.

[@JDnBeastlet]

While solar panels are indeed wonderful, most people have a much higher expectation of them than reality. We have a solar array on our roof - 23 panels covering two-thirds of the south-facing surface. But the panels, 65" x 40" x 2" and 49 lbs each, are only rated at 235W , giving us a capacity of 5.4kW. On a peak production spring day with low electricity use in the home we might just cover our needs, both most of the time the needs far outstrip production. In any case we don't store the electricity we produce, or use it directly. We are lucky enough here in Ontario, Canada, that we had them installed under the initiative of a provincial program that has us in a 20 year contract to sell our electricity back to the power grid for many times the usage rate. We have had the system for a little over 11 years and it paid for itself in less than 9.

[@666t]

Sounds positive

[@leskennedy]

What are you running for that much demand? Our average use is about 10kwh a day.

[@CastleKnight7]

@@leskennedy Good question. What sort of appliances are you running that require so much energy?

[@laks05]

235w per panel? Must have been some older technology because nowadays it’s 395ish Watts per panel, in the UK if you don’t have battery storage system it’s very counterproductive to install a solar panel system.

[@JDnBeastlet]

@@laks05 Yes, we've had them since 2011. I have not been keeping up with panel developments so it's good to know capacity has increased... thanks for the info. When our 20 year contract to sell electricity to the province of Ontario ends, we will still be able to enter into a net metering contract, where the electricity we generate is deducted from our bill. Far less lucrative but our solar array has since paid for itself - it's still money in the bank.

[@AdelinoGambiarras]

I am all in to for renewal energy I bought a Merk and I think a of an Idea change the engine an electric motor it sound's ode but it might work.

[@pravindahiya719]

to the solar & EV naysayers - have you ever considered the effects of 1) the setting up of oil wells ? 2) oil transport, oil spills ? 3) the lubricating oil you change every quarter ? 4) mining of rare metals for catalytic converters 5) people killed by wars ( to control the oil production & markets ) ? 6) bonded labour in the oil producing middle eastern countries ( after the passports of the poor immigrant workers are snatched ) ?

[@alangood8190]

Is there a British manufacturer manufacturing solar panels in Britain?

[@pat4brown]

GB-Sol.

[@alangood8190]

@@pat4brown Thanks, Patricia. I've had a quick look at their site and they seem to tick all the right boxes. Really glad to see a British company manufacturing a world product in Britain creating British jobs. Hope they go from strength to strength.

[@portman8909]

Solar farms don't make sense to me. Just make it standard on houses so that you're not taking up entire land just for panels....

[@richardwakelin843]

Water power is better, but generally, house holders can not buy the equipment so there are less installations and the manufacturing company's don't make enough profit. It seems its all about profit not sustainability

[@bofty]

Water power is extremely inefficient

[@simonhurlow-jones8606]

That’s not that big. They’re planning to put 22 square kilometres in wardwickshire

[@andrewhiggins8873]

As long as you see solar ( at the moment) as a reduction in energy Bill's (ultimatly) and paying less to greedy power companies. Then they have their place. Lots of these things work on a small scale ie 1 house, but are not as successful on larger scale. Remote properties benefit greatly from solar and wind but again you have to have sun or wind to work. Batteries ( at the moment) are vastly polluting.

[@fanfeck2844]

Not as polluting as oil wells, transport and refining. Right now as I write the U.K. is running at 60% renewables making the electricity dirt cheap. Pity we don’t see it on our bills, as we have to pay the expensive price of generating by gas.

[@pravindahiya719]

#0:36 " the biggest solar farm " .... & it comes out to be 2.2 MegaWatt only. The biggest solar farm is in Bhadla, Rajasthan, India with a capacity of 2.2 GigaWatt i.e. 1000 times this plant !

[@fanfeck2844]

This is a U.K. film about U.K. solar. He didn’t say it’s the biggest in the world. It’s owned by a private company to offset its costs, it’s not national infrastructure. For that, the U.K. has opted for offshore wind

[@KiwiShoot]

For those who say solar doesn’t work and don’t have it....remember, would you let a vegan tell you how to cook a steak ? Ask those who have it if it works. Hint, it reduces your power bill and can reduce your transportation costs considerably. And when it leaves you more cash at your pocket at the end of the month.... yeah, it’s a ‘orrible thing 😂

[@del4668]

Got it, so I need to spend £40k on an EV, £10k on a solar panel install, £5k on a battery. Bargain all to save a couple of hundred a year....

[@videogalore]

@@del4668 What's the payback on a petrol/diesel car and a gas boiler...........

[@leskennedy]

​@@del4668 oh del. No need to spend that much on the car. Ours was the same cost as a mini and running costs even now are 1/4 of petrol. And that isn't counting the days it's filled by solar. Payback for a solar installation is about ten years. Less if you're smart with usage. But you're not interested in the truth are you?

[@slickstrings]

​@@leskennedy as an engineer in a company who designs energy infrastructure including solar farms, i can tell you your 'truth' is nothing more than your home finances. It says nothing for the larger infrastructure problem of grid balancing and the unforseen nightmare of everyone moving to electric cars. I can tell you that out loud laughter can be heard in the office when someone talks about government renewable targets and people saying its 'the answer'. Laughter. A cloud flying over a suburb of houses with lots of roof top solar is enough to cause nightmares on the grid unless they are all hooked up to expensive battery systems. Can you fathom the future problems when everyone is using electric cars. The best time to charge them will be during the day... when everyone is using them. The demand on the grid at night-when people will actually charge them and all the renewables are offline will be a nightmare. The problem is far more complicated than you realise. That is the truth.

[@andrewcoates6641]

I would have thought that the armed forces in general and specifically all departments that are land based, would be investigating alternative power sources and methods of making such sources applicable to utilising such energy supplies with existing equipment that otherwise would be a nett consumer of energy. Bearing in mind that in the event of a war breaking out across Europe there is a significant possibility of such a conflict going nuclear and the resulting magnetic pulse shutting down most electrical and electronic devices including any unprotected electrical storage equipment and service’s, I would have assumed that they would have been at the forefront of research and design of alternative energy sources for transportation of both material and personal. I’m thinking of using flywheel technology to provide transportation and chemical reactions to provide heating for both infrastructure and food storage and production . Even in extremism putting troops on pedal powered vehicles and treadmills to provide lighting and communication systems.

[@666t]

Solar power is unaffected by magnetic pulse and its energy used for flywheel technology in Antarctica where wind and solar energy is used and the flywheel is used as a battery

[@andrewcoates6641]

@@666t yes solar power maybe I effected by an EMP but unfortunately the circuitry used to make use of solar power as well as the capability to store such power so it can be used at a later time can all be effected by an EMP.

[@MrSimonw58]

There's no fn sun

[@DragonSpawn4Twenty]

'Local solutions to a global problem'!?

[@666t]

Yes !

[@rtfazeberdee3519]

yes, stop importing fuel for power

[@topp0009]

nixe well done, let's link all forests in UK up and solve our population issue with who we letting in and companies not paying tax.. I.e Cadburys and man unt when they sell 600 tax missing of sale. stop sale untill that solved.

[@spiritusinfinitus]

You can even plug in a Bitcoin miner into your electricity generated from your solar panels which has the rather useful side effect of generating enough heat to warm your home..So, you've now found a dual use for your electricity. A profitable one too!

[@666t]

First world problem averted

[@spiritusinfinitus]

@@666t Kinda. But if you're generating enough, you are effectively getting free heating and free electricity, which is sustainable forever. Right now, poorer countries, like El Salvador are currently mining Bitcoin using the otherwise stranded energy from volcanoes and for the first time in decades are experiencing economic growth. So, there you go. Any energy company not mining Bitcoin or doing something else useful with excess energy is losing out.

[@Tim_Shippam]

The biggest problem with solar panels is recycling the panels because at present we cannot recycle them! All the to land fill they go. And there is a worry chemicals will leech out of the panels in to the ground and ground water...

[@KirtFitzpatrick]

Where I live you can't throw solar panels out, the landfills won't accept them. Apparently all panels sold here must have instructions printed on them for how to contact the manufacturer to recycle them at the end of their life. It's not a great solution (for many reasons) but I get it. They're trying to force the people making the panels to design for recyclability by making recycling their problem directly. Like I said, many problems with this solution, but also it probably will have the desired affect to a degree. And yes, I live in California.

[@666t]

I assume you wish to recycle them as they are broken, if they can be reused do so, work out recycling methods, maybe not use child labour,

[@jakobh3718]

This is partially desinformation spread by the world fossil fuel lobby

[@glennjgroves]

Solar panels can be recycled. The materials in them have low value, so recycling tends to be more expensive than just dumping them. It can be done though. It is being done in some places.

[@glennjgroves]

@John Chapman it is possible to farm under and around solar panels - it is being done. Strangely of course you are not mentioning any of the damage that fossil fuels do to farmland or growing food or to us in the long run. A typical oversight, unfortunately.

[@stevenjohns1322]

Our green and pleasant land, not any more, just built a solar farm that doesn’t work at night or a wind farm that doesn’t work when it’s not windy or its to windy, a not nearly enough battery storage to cope what could go wrong, not to mention he blew up one of the last remaining coal fired power stations in England and for what? To stop global warming when Britain is only responsible for 0.03 percent of global emissions, hope we enjoy the Stone Age 2.0

[@leskennedy]

Oh yeah cos emissions from fossil fuels are SO good for the country. Muppet.

[@conservative-ku3lz]

As much as I appreciate Guy and the Solar panel miracle solution, it cannot last. Silver is in very short supply, and whilst the super wall street banks short the metal through the actions of derivatives to hide its true value, cheap solar panels are very short lived. And as Tim Shippam states, yes, after 25 years, into the landfill they go. And the batteries are another big problem altogether. Lithium cannot be pulled out of the ground quick enough by child slave labour, and then EV have a nasty habit of exploding randomly. In closing, to make EV's work, we will all have to go onto night shift, so the vehicles can charge up in the daylight sun. When Britain gets some off cause.

[@BritishAnts]

Your views are so misguided and lack any evidence! Lithium is a by product from copper mining in Cornwall and is plenty full, once dug up can last 10 yrs and be recycled like solar panels! More slave labour is used in fossil fuel industry and deaths from coal are still in the hundreds annually! Check out a channel called “fully charged” and educate yourself, you’ll be pleasantly surprised and mugged off that you bought the fossil fuel pill that wants to keep you enslaved for the 1 % profits!

[@666t]

That's the spirit, if you can, invest in solar,

[@rtfazeberdee3519]

"Tim Shippam states, yes, after 25 years, into the landfill they go." - Tim Shippam talks bollocks, they get recycled

[@stevenjohns1322]

Preach brother preach, this is insanity and for what virtue signalling that’s all, Britain is responsible for 0.03 of greenhouse gases maybe he should go to India or China first, I like Guy but this is pure propaganda and he has become the mouthpiece of the global elites welcoming in the Stone Age 2.0

[@conservative-ku3lz]

@@rtfazeberdee3519 either way, after 25 years they are disposed off, hardly a clean renewable energy source. Dirty energy furnaces are required to both make them, and dispose of them. What green clean energy can smelt metals I wonder?

[@ianwilkinson3315]

Put panels on all new build roofs...farms destroy landscapes, wildlife breeding and feeding areas. The making transport and desposing of old panels damages the environment....its all about large companies making maximum profit at any cost....humans drive me nuts!😢

[@markwatters6875]

Every military base, worldwide, should be doing more solar work. 👍🇦🇺

[@neilbrown5858]

get solar panels ! I would wow what about people with hardly any sun Scottish people would disagree fannies.

[@666t]

They use them at the poles, so yes

[@leskennedy]

Pal in the Orkney's has to let the neighbours charge their cars too as he's getting too much electric from his panels.

[@theoutsider6191]

You've got to love Guy's enthusiasm about everything. However, the idea that China building hundreds of millions of solar panels and shipping them internationally is somehow fantastically green is pie in the sky. Even more so for batteries for storage. At least CO2 is used for photosynthesis. As ever the real elephant in the room doesn't get discussed, which is there are far too many people. All of the problems we face are related to nothing more than our vast overpopulation, success at overcoming natural population controls, and consumption.

[@donkey1271]

Over the life cycle of a solar panel it will produce far more energy than it consumes to produce and transport, and is such is a net energy positive. Plenty of countries are at below replacement rates for their populations, but you can't exactly fix overpopulation issues less you decide to start a mess genocide. Atleast in the UK, energy consumption has reduced by a good 15% over the last 15-20 years despite a 15% growth in population.

[@theoutsider6191]

@@donkey1271 Haha, yeah not sure genocide is the preferred option. But a one child policy would certainly make a massive difference, if implemented correctly. And it wouldn't take anywhere near as long as the green initiatives. Moreover it would actually be much more effective for everything else on the planet as well. More habitat available for the rest of the natural world, and the opportunity to not have to mono crop on huge scales, with associated over use of fertiliser and pesticides/herbicides etc etc etc. Would also have several other benefits with respect to the cost of housing, overpopulation like the UK has relative to what the landmass can sustain locally, and so on. But of course, as I said before, nobody wants to talk about the actual problem. We like to pretend we can innovate our way out of everything cause there's an opportunity to make money from that. But that probably isn't going to prove to be correct over time. There will be a tipping point, and it'll either be the warming problem causing it, or the effects of trying to sustain the massive overpopulation of humans indefinitely. This is why we're all looking forward to eating crickets instead of a nice piece of steak, or roast chicken....

[@sydsnott5042]

If you read this Guy, which I hope you do, then you Need to look into the negatively of solar panels and the batteries. Why? Because there's so much negativity about the true actual cost of the solar panels and the batteries. With regards the solar panels. What are they made of. Are they actually renewable? The batteries. Just what is the cost of these? Have young lives been lost to get the precious metals to make these batteries? Just what are the True facts in solar panels, the batteries to store the energy, the heat pumps? etc etc. There's definitely a conspiracy about saving energy and CO2 emissions to a point who the hell knows what the Truth is. You are a down to earth geezer. A biker and speed freak. Just like me 30 years ago. But I was doing your TT speeds on Lancashire's roads. Oh happy days lol. So please do look into the True renewableness (is that a word?) Of solar panels. Batteries. Heat pumps and the like Because the Truth needs to be told.

[@666t]

The truth is out there, solar and batteries are the way forward, storing energy that you get free from the sun is good. Raising the temperature of your country every day by 10°c would be hard without the sun, it happens most days to a degree. To the na sayers I say Na.

[@rtfazeberdee3519]

aaahh... a conspiracy theorist - well done at trying to spread it

[@pravindahiya719]

have you ever considered the effects of 1) the setting up of oil wells ? 2) oil transport, oil spills ? 3) the lubricating oil you change every quarter ? 4) mining of rare metals for catalytic converters 5) people killed by wars ( to control the oil production & markets ) ? 6) bonded labour in the oil producing middle eastern countries ( after the passports of the poor immigrant workers are snatched ) ?

[@cayminlast]

With an average efficiency of around 15-20% solar panels will never equal the energy used to manufacture them, similar to EVs that use lithium based batteries, the cost and energy expended to make them cancels the advertised 'green Energy' tag they claim to save.

[@donkey1271]

Categorically false, the repayment time for solar panels until they have produced more energy than they take to manufacture is 3-4 years. EVs are a bit longer, although crucially they are significantly more efficient in their operation, ie 1kwh of energy will get you further in an EV than 1kwh worth of petrol

[@Kyusoath]

tax payers paid for that expensive mess and will never see anything from it.

[@alangraham4526]

Sorry you guys solar is not the answer at all and at some point when you have all got 90% of the roofs covered the "government" will tax them nothing surer than that.

[@leskennedy]

That would probably take a few decades so I'll happily enjoy my free electric for all that time. You keep paying for your electric and I'll count my savings.

[@alangraham4526]

@@leskennedy there is an element of "free electric" and is a "must concede" point but how much has this "free electric" cost? It is not unreasonable to expect 20 year life span and given the lunacy of the current administration it artificially makes solar more attractive even after allowing for the degradation output curve over the same period. 20 years hence will solar still be viable as the cost of manufacture will have increased. Regardless of summer or winter we must admit to a 50% work cycle for life also anyone living above 23 degrees latitude is definitely not getting much bang for their buck. To revert I do think you will not get "free" electric as the market gets bigger someone is losing your dollars and the gov will tax you in some way to "compensate". A positive for self generation / storage is the security of supply especially as the grid gets older and more loaded the caveat being apart from your basic needs of heat / lighting what other power dependent services have been shutdown? I don't think any of this is the bed of roses it appears to be.

[@brianbrown6633]

Solar power what a con

[@leskennedy]

The National Grid isn't going to fall for a con trick. However 'Brian' who's research is listening to his pal at the pub and reading the Daily Mail is somehow an expert. You keep paying for all your electric and the smart people will save their cash.

[@jay71512]

Good old solar and wind. The biggest con of the 21st century.

[@templebomb]

That's going to be an awful lot of land cover with solar panels.

[@666t]

Every building can have solar panels on every roof and wall utilising wasted space

[@iwbarke]

And a lot of that had been, or could have been, used for food production here in the UK rather than shipping or flying it in.

[@leskennedy]

​@@iwbarke a lot of it is industrial land. We haven't been self sufficient in food for the UK since the 18th century. And population has increased and tastes changed. It's nothing to do with a few solar farms.

[@benp9442]

​@iwbarke you can even use the land for both things

[@hansmatthia32]

What’s gotten into guy lately esg sponsors money what happened to the old guy on a coal powered narrow boat

[@666t]

He is waking up and looking into things to be informed

[@winstonsmith7801]

@@666t No , he's become a useful idiot for the Globalists.