Clean energy startup idea from Finland

[IslandMode]

I am a microgrid expert from Finland. I have been monitoring the energy crisis in the UK and the world for the past weeks ever since the strange war in Iran started. Seems somewhat intentional to push worth a structural change. Finland is actually number one of all countries in achieving net-zero emission and also waste water treatment. Talking online to people from the UK and the US, it's remarkable to me how primitive their understanding is about clean technologies. I would therefore like to offer my expertise in this sector and also reliable engineering from Finland which will most likely be required. Our small market is saturated already but full of reliable expertise. You just don't survive at a very small domestic market like this in a harsh nordic climate if you're not extremely reliable.

I noticed that there is not one single company in the US or the UK that focuses on renewable microgrids. It's probably because there has been a powerful lobby against it for the last decade and people there seem to believe that it's a hoax. That argument is becoming less valid now when people realize the benefits of decoupling from fossil fuels. All the countries with highest electricity prices right now have one thing in common. They produce electricity with natural gas, so the price is attached to global fossil markets. The alternative is to build anaerobic digestion at every waste water treatment facility and it's going to become mandatory because the EU could sue for polluting the sea.

So this is my startup proposal for UK and I would be delighted to find some business partner and associates from the UK.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

I noticed that there is not one single company in the US or the UK

It's probably because there has been a powerful lobby against it

In the age of social media, this is easily overcome!


In my limited knowledge, generating electricity (via solar?) and selling back to the grid has been in the UK for years. What is different to what you offer?

 

[IslandMode]

In the age of social media, this is easily overcome!


In my limited knowledge, generating electricity (via solar?) and selling back to the grid has been in the UK for years. What is different to what you offer?

Yes, see when talking about renewables and net-zero people only think of wind and solar, which are volatile because they depend completely on weather. Stable biomass and micro hydro alternatives are completely left out from this discussion. I'm talking micro scale because that's what is used in these private energy farms that sell electricity to the grid. Most people in the UK and US seem to be under the assumption that renewable always need dispatchable power generation such as natural gas, coal or nuclear as backup, which isn't true, but now there has been a big return to these especially in the US since Trump became president which is in my opinion a big mistake for the UK that's not becoming free from the dependency of imported energy. My observation is that the UK is now kind of stuck between the US and EU policies in this matter and extremist lobbies of both left and right dominate the discussion with their false claims, where biomass is not regarded at all as renewable or low carbon, which it actually is, when you assess the full life cycle as it's done legally when you assess a renewable energy recourse to for example beurocrats that grant the permissions. They have distorted the debate with nonsense by claiming that it's same as using coal and natural gas, which isn't at all true either. There seems to be a huge lack of sound non-biased knowhow now in both UK and US. So I offer the full variety of renewable alternatives, which you can use to create a reliable autonomous microgrid with stable output. That's why I named this brand Island Mode Microgrids.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

in my opinion a big mistake for the UK that's not becoming free from the dependency of imported energy

Yesterday, almost 70% of energy created in the UK was renewable - https://grid.iamkate.com/

 

[IslandMode]

Yesterday, almost 70% of energy created in the UK was renewable -

Yes, that means that there's still a huge 30% market share to fill.

 

[IslandMode]

Yesterday, almost 70% of energy created in the UK was renewable -

There's a huge 30% market share still to be saturated and that's exactly why they protest by spreading their disinformation. They are fossil lobbies and they are holding on to and protecting their market share, but the UK has committed to the transition by an agreement. I agree that the climate change might be exaggerated but that's not really the main issue. The main issue is to become self-reliant from the volatile global fossil market which impacts even the electricity price and causes inflation.

 

[Gecko001]

@IslandMode. Is the electricity from your microgrids in Finland used for heating? If it does, does it supply all the heating requirements of their users?

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

There's a huge 30% market share still to be saturated

On paper, yes. In reality, with the increased demand for electricity, I believe projections show that there will always be a need for generated power.

What about 100% nuclear? No fossil fuels needed there!

 

[IslandMode]

Yesterday, almost 70% of energy created in the UK was renewable -

One great confusion is over biomass like wood. Is it ok to burn wood? In a country like the UK, that has little forest, it would easily seem like a crime to burn wood, but in a country like Finland that has vast forestry industry, it's totally ridiculous to claim that you can't cut down trees and burn them. Finland actually uses primarily biomass as fuel in district CHP for both heat and power. Wood chips are burned which boil water and the steam goes through a turbine that produces electricity and the hot water is used to heat houses and to provide hot water. These are cultivated forests and they plant two new trees for each tree they cut down. Wood is like coal, but it's renewable. Because it's renewable it's actually net-zero, because it bound all the carbon in the beginning of its lifecycle, but these extremist lobbies feed each other with this narrative that burning wood emits lots of carbon and the smoke pollutes and therefore it's same as using fossils, which is not true but they have positioned themselves in a stalemate with this argument and continue to use the fossils which are volatile and cause inflation. Energy causes inflation most because everything uses energy. That's why it's most essential to become energy self-reliant.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

My brother in law is the biggest importer of biomass into Mauritius for power generation and I have helped him source pellets - I know a little about this.

The UK is the biggest importer of biomass pellets in the world - we know a bit about this. Your research should have found this out very quickly!

 

[IslandMode]

@IslandMode. Is the electricity from your microgrids in Finland used for heating? If it does, does it supply all the heating requirements of their users?

I'm not in business in Finland because this market is completely saturated already and the worlds number one in the transition to renewables and net-zero. Finland uses primarily CHP (combined heat and power) district heating with biomass to produce both heat and power. It supplies adequate heat and power for everyone. This is a cold nordic country where reliable and affordable heating for everyone is absolutely necessary during the winter. This could be done in a micro scale too for a block of flats or a village. People could start energy cooperatives and pool in a microgrid with a micro CHP, It depends on the location what is the most sufficient combination, Is there a moving body of water nearby? Is there a source of organic waste available? You can press any organic waste into pellets and use that as very cheap fuel for a micro CHP.

 

[IslandMode]

My brother in law is the biggest importer of biomass into Mauritius for power generation and I have helped him source pellets - I know a little about this.

The UK is the biggest importer of biomass pellets in the world - we know a bit about this. Your research should have found this out very quickly!

Yes, I know that Canada has vast forestry and the UK imports pellets from there, but as I initially highlighted, I think the biggest market potential is in the waste water sewage sludge biomass which can be turned into biogas which is basically the same product as LNG. The UK has very large cities that produce vast amount of sewage daily and just dump it all in the rivers and the sea like some underdeveloped third world country. Then you fish in those same waters and eat that fish. This is absolutely baffling to someone from Finland, how the country that started the industrial revolution is so behind in development today?

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

"Currently, around 87% of treated sludge is recycled to agricultural land as a soil improver where it forms an important source of nutrients and organic matter for growing crops. There are strict quality standards that must be adhered to for the production of biosolids.

Of the remaining 13% of treated sludge, 4% is incinerated, 3% is used in industry (typically as a fuel for cement production) and 6% is used in land reclamation. "

It's already being used for something else, as well as fuel!

 

[IslandMode]

"Currently, around 87% of treated sludge is recycled to agricultural land as a soil improver where it forms an important source of nutrients and organic matter for growing crops. There are strict quality standards that must be adhered to for the production of biosolids.

Of the remaining 13% of treated sludge, 4% is incinerated, 3% is used in industry (typically as a fuel for cement production) and 6% is used in land reclamation. "

It's already being used for something else, as well as fuel!

Yes, but it has been discovered that using biosolids as fertilizer is not good at all, because it contains harmful substances like PFAS, heavy metals and other pollutants that do not break down easily and ruins the soil and transfers into the crop and causes cancer. That's why it should be decomposed in an anaerobic digester, which turns it into electricity.

 

[Gecko001]

I'm not in business in Finland because this market is completely saturated already and the worlds number one in the transition to renewables and net-zero. Finland uses primarily CHP (combined heat and power) district heating with biomass to produce both heat and power. It supplies adequate heat and power for everyone. This is a cold nordic country where reliable and affordable heating for everyone is absolutely necessary during the winter. This could be done in a micro scale too for a block of flats or a village. People could start energy cooperatives and pool in a microgrid with a micro CHP, It depends on the location what is the most sufficient combination, Is there a moving body of water nearby? Is there a source of organic waste available? You can press any organic waste into pellets and use that as very cheap fuel for a micro CHP.

There are some district heating schemes in the UK, so there is the know-how here already and the contractors who can construct the systems. The same goes for biomass. How can compete with these companies? How can you get a foot-hold in the market? What is your unique selling point. Is it your experience as a contractor or a consultant in this field? Is it your contacts within the sector?

 

[IslandMode]

There are some district heating schemes in the UK, so there is the know-how here already and the contractors who can construct the systems. The same goes for biomass. How can compete with these companies? How can you get a foot-hold in the market? What is your unique selling point. Is it your experience as a contractor or a consultant in this field? Is it your contacts within the sector?

Those are large scale operations. My niche is to design private microgrids that can be autonomous (Island Mode) to provide power to a whole community or connected to the main grid as an energy farm to sell electricity. Or it can be both. It can power your property and sell the surplus to the grid. The price volatility of the main grid provides an energy arbitrage opportunity that can be automated as well so that you sell only when the price is high. The net-zero scheme really creates a whole new economic system and harnessing it profitably requires sophisticated planning and the more resources and components you can source locally, the better because that also helps cutting the cost. I'm really passionate about designing the most impressively efficient and optimal solutions, you know because energy-self reliance mean also no electricity bills, no taxes, no transmission fees, There are so many benefits that it's guaranteed a good investment as the energy price keeps just going up and it's not coming down. So a structural reform is required.

 

[IslandMode]

There are some district heating schemes in the UK, so there is the know-how here already and the contractors who can construct the systems. The same goes for biomass. How can compete with these companies? How can you get a foot-hold in the market? What is your unique selling point. Is it your experience as a contractor or a consultant in this field? Is it your contacts within the sector?

I mean district heating is typically designed for thousands of households and it requires to tear up roads many miles to install the heat pipelines. A micro CHP is a smaller unit from 1 kW to 50 kW that's just designed to heat one household or a few households very locally, so there's no need to install miles of pipelines. I see that currently district heating supplies only 2% of UK's heat. The UK government plans to significantly expend district heating. There's a boiler upgrade scheme in the UK where the govt grants up to £7500 per household to replace fossil fuel heating systems. This is currently used mostly for heat pumps, which is sort of a micro CHP but they are not that good according to my understanding. They consume quite a lot of electricity and they have a short lifespan and they require regular professional maintenance. Like so many things, this has also become a scam and a racket, so no wonder many are frustrated now and calling it all a hoax. Heat pumps just get aggressively advertised everywhere, so people buy them because they don't know any better.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

OK, I think we get the idea.

What do you want and what are you offering/bringing to the party?

 

[IslandMode]

OK, I think we get the idea.

What do you want and what are you offering/bringing to the party?

First of all I would like to thank you for the opportunity to prove that I'm really an expert. I do know what I'm talking about and I'm not politically biased in any way although this is a very hot topic right now. I am just performing the scheme as I understand it to be designed and truly presenting all the best options after studying most of them. Whether you like it or not the Net-zero scheme creates a whole new economic system and harnessing it adequately requires expertise and sophisticated planning, because as you know average people think of only wind and solar and heat pumps when the topic is mentioned, which are the most discussed options because they are the most controversial because they all have their obvious flaws and weaknesses. I am offering my services as an expert and I would prefer to use local engineers and installing companies as much as possible because that also helps to cut costs. I'm not sponsored by anyone or here to promote European companies. I just added that if needed I can also arrange engineers and builders from my home country. There is a lot to develop on the UK market in this business and I would just like to make a living by helping with that. I need local business partners for that who share this same passion for clean self-sufficient technologies. I really believe in this myself, because I think it's absolute freedom when you are your own power plant. You become like an independent island state. No electricity bills, no taxes, no transmission fees. You produce the fuel for your vehicle. That's the approach I like to use as a conservative male in this day and age. It's not about tree hugging and the climate. It's about individual liberty.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

Please utilise paragraphs!

It makes reading so much easier!

 

[IslandMode]

Please utilise paragraphs!

It makes reading so much easier!

Ok, sorry. I'm just trying to write short pitches. To summarize it: These are tailored solutions for each specific local need. To be able to tailor a solution one has to know the full variety of the currently available options and why one is better than the other in the given location and how different options work together to provide a reliable and stable power output and how to best take advantage of the energy arbitrage opportunity when selling electricity to the main grid.

 

[Scalloway]

I don't know about the rest of the UK but here in Shetland work is going ahead with small scale energy initiatives. SHEAP has operated a district heating scheme in the town of Lerwick since 1998 and has over 1,000 customers. In the island of Yell the North Yell Development Council runs a small windfarm that supplies electricity to the village of Cullivoe. In the same area Nova Energy have tidal generators which also supply electricity to the same area.
In addition to the above district heating schemes are being planned for the villages of Scalloway and Brae.

 

[Gecko001]

Perhaps there are microgrids operating in the UK, but they are not called microgrids.

 

[NickGrogan]

Wood is like coal, but it's renewable. Because it's renewable it's actually net-zero, because it bound all the carbon in the beginning of its lifecycle

What is coal made of? Where did the carbon on coal come from originally?

Burning wood now, to possibly if all goes well absorb the carbon over the next 100 years is not net zero.

These are cultivated forests and they plant two new trees for each tree they cut down

Sounds great, but isnt. In a managed/cultivated forest if you plant 200 trees, how many mature trees will you have in 100 years?

Green energy is great, but it is a lot better when people tell the truth about it and don't try to hide behind hyperbole.

Bhutan is the leading net zero country, its actually carbon negative - absorbs more than it produces - it also has a lot of data centers.

Finland is ~75% green electricity and is looking like it wont hit its net zero by 2035 targets, due to problems with ... its forests.

 

[cjd]

Ok, you think you've identified a market, so what is your actual product?

 

[IslandMode]

Perhaps there are microgrids operating in the UK, but they are not called microgrids.

Sure any smaller autonomously powered off-grid unit is a microgrid. Backup generation units at factories and data centers are called microgrids. My business model is to start bringing it into the awareness of the wider public as a viable solution for all its grand benefits. A microgrid can be a backup system, but when it stands autonomously, it's in Island Mode.

This is why I named my brand Island Mode Microgrids. It describes the products and precisely what it's capable of. An excellent brand is very important in business. Even if the product exists already, you can completely take over the market with good branding. A good brand much more than the product itself. It contains a trendy lifestyle and a new identity that you want to embrace. The notion of becoming like your own island state is quite radical and disruptive and that should attract a certain segment of the market. You can start building and collecting into your microgrid with the ultimate goal of achiving the Island Mode.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

If am beginning to think this is AI through a translation system.

We still have no idea what the product/service is.

 

[IslandMode]

I don't know about the rest of the UK but here in Shetland work is going ahead with small scale energy initiatives. SHEAP has operated a district heating scheme in the town of Lerwick since 1998 and has over 1,000 customers. In the island of Yell the North Yell Development Council runs a small windfarm that supplies electricity to the village of Cullivoe. In the same area Nova Energy have tidal generators which also supply electricity to the same area.
In addition to the above district heating schemes are being planned for the villages of Scalloway and Brae.

Yes, that is an actual microgrid. It has been used to power such distant locations out of necessity, but what has changed since, is that prices, fees and taxes just keep on rising constantly due to a never ending inflation, so it's becoming attractive to anyone to get off the main grid and start producing your own electricity and even surplus to sell to the main grid.

 

[Shopclicks]

This is why I named my brand Island Mode Microgrids. It describes the products and precisely what it's capable of. An excellent brand is very important in business. Even if the product exists already, you can completely take over the market with good branding. A good brand much more than the product itself. It contains a trendy lifestyle and a new identity that you want to embrace. The notion of becoming like your own island state is quite radical and disruptive and that should attract a certain segment of the market. You can start building and collecting into your microgrid with the ultimate goal of achiving the Island Mode.

Firstly, you don't understand what a 'brand' is.

Secondly, if you have to explain what it is, it isn't a good name.

 

[Scalloway]

You can start building and collecting into your microgrid with the ultimate goal of achiving the Island Mode.

This is starting to sound like a game!

Meanwhile the Scottish Government has set up Community Energy Scotland with a view to establishing Rural Energy Hubs.

Rural Energy Hubs - Community Energy Scotland

Engaging with communities to gather new data, share information and develop a low carbon mobility strategy tailored to local requirements

communityenergy.scot

 

[IslandMode]

If am beginning to think this is AI through a translation system.

We still have no idea what the product/service is.

Yes, I know. It's because I'm Germanic. We are so correct and professional that we seem like robots sometimes. It's a cultural thing that other races don't seem to grasp. They get jealous and mad because they understand their inferiorirty and then they start attacking and discriminating us racistically. The product is described in the name of the brand. It's an autonomous microgrid. If it's only for one household, it's actually called a nanogrid.

 

[IslandMode]

This is starting to sound like a game!

Meanwhile the Scottish Government has set up Community Energy Scotland with a view to establishing Rural Energy Hubs.

Yes, the public councils set up energy production to ensure the energy security, but this is now available for private investors as well. The main grid is set to buy electricity, which is of design for this purpose. As farming food is no longer profitable, farming energy is becoming the thing for landowners.

 

[Shopclicks]

Yes, I know. It's because I'm Germanic. We are so correct and professional that we seem like robots sometimes. It's a cultural thing that other races don't seem to grasp. They get jealous and mad because they understand their inferiorirty and then they start attacking and discriminating us racistically. The product is described in the name of the brand. It's an autonomous microgrid. If it's only for one household, it's actually called a nanogrid.

I think you're losing the crowd

 

[IslandMode]

Ok, you think you've identified a market, so what is your actual product?

Microgrid is the product. If it's for only one household then it's actually called a nanogrid.

 

[fisicx]

Yes, I know. It's because I'm Germanic. We are so correct and professional that we seem like robots sometimes. It's a cultural thing that other races don't seem to grasp. They get jealous and mad because they understand their inferiorirty and then they start attacking and discriminating us racistically. The product is described in the name of the brand. It's an autonomous microgrid. If it's only for one household, it's actually called a nanogrid.

That’s a not very helpful rant. Much of my family is German and the opposite of what you describe. And I have clients in the Finnish energy sector who are defiantly not robotic.

 

[IslandMode]

I think you're losing the crowd

That’s a not very helpful rant. Much of my family is German and the opposite of what you describe. And I have clients in the Finnish energy sector who are defiantly not robotic.

Well why would you call me AI? Why do you want to start insulting me and irritating me deliberately?

 

[IslandMode]

That’s a not very helpful rant. Much of my family is German and the opposite of what you describe. And I have clients in the Finnish energy sector who are defiantly not robotic.

If you're not interested personally, you can just politely shut up. You don't need to start harassing and bullying a man who's trying to make a living. This is a free market and I don't need your permission.

 

[Paul Kelly ICHYB]

You have not said what you do.

You have not said what you want.

You keep on commenting on something that is already happening in the UK.

Tell us how well your business is performing in Germany.

 

[fisicx]

If you're not interested personally, you can just politely shut up. You don't need to start harassing and bullying a man who's trying to make a living. This is a free market and I don't need your permission.

Actually no. This is a forum and members are permitted to post whatever they want within the rules. Not sure how pointing out I disagree this your assertion is bullying or harassment. That's the whole point of a discussion.

I am interested in the whole energy sector (especially as my clients are in that business). But I'm not at all clear how you are involved and how it can help me here in the UK.

 

[IslandMode]

What is coal made of? Where did the carbon on coal come from originally?

Burning wood now, to possibly if all goes well absorb the carbon over the next 100 years is not net zero.


Sounds great, but isnt. In a managed/cultivated forest if you plant 200 trees, how many mature trees will you have in 100 years?

Green energy is great, but it is a lot better when people tell the truth about it and don't try to hide behind hyperbole.

Bhutan is the leading net zero country, its actually carbon negative - absorbs more than it produces - it also has a lot of data centers.

Finland is ~75% green electricity and is looking like it wont hit its net zero by 2035 targets, due to problems with ... its forests.

This is the key issue that many people don't realize about biomass, because the discussion is dominated by extremists. The time it takes to regenerate determines whether it's a renewable resource. Coal and fossils take thousands of years to form. They are therefore not considered renewable. Trees however grow much faster compared to this and are therefore considered renewable. This is not a matter of taste and opinion. It's determined by law what's considered a renewable resource and what's not. Because wood is renewable you may include the beginning of its lifecycle where it bound all that carbon when you calculate the emissions. Wood emits only about half of its carbon when it burns, so it's not only net-zero, but actually carbon negative.