Even the best renewable technology cannot support unlimited growth, insights with Peter Schneider

Interesting interview with Peter Schneider who will be leading the Renewable Energy course at the Organice Centre later this year. on June 6th. See more about Peter’s work here, and our preview of the event here.

What is your background briefly?

I qualified as an electrician; at the same time I love nature and I’ve always dreamed of independent living. At age 13, my favourite book was ‘Robinson Crusoe’.

Does it seem like a logical background to what you do now?

Yes. Doing electrical work for both domestic and industrial customers, I realized I contributed to ever growing quantities of production and consumption – exactly what the planet does NOT need. Therefore, during the 90s, I started offering energy conservation studies and small renewable energy systems, mainly solar.

My first contracts were off-grid wind and solar electric systems in remote places without grid connection (solar electricity was still very expensive at the time).  Interest in energy conservation was rather disappointing, but interest in renewables took off around the year 2000. From around 2006, I focussed on consultancy rather than supply and installation.  SEAI contracted me as a technical advisor under the Greener Homes Scheme and the Microgeneration Pilot Scheme 2006-2011.

1 min pitch for what you are doing now? (and tell us about the course you are teaching in June?)

I am officially retired now, but still offer independent advice in this field.  This includes my course at The Organic Centre, which will focus on solar electricity, both on-grid and off-grid.

Renewable Energy course at the @organiccentreie featured in @Irish_TechNews https://t.co/5i3clSknIA pic.twitter.com/NVgoaJROdb

— Simon Cocking (@SimonCocking) January 22, 2020

What is the best approach for those looking to generate their own renewable energy & potentially off the grid? Is the best solution a blended one, ie solar / wind / ground pumps / others, what is the best way to decide what the best mix is for your own property?

Solar water heating, solar electricity and wood fuel are suited for almost every home and business, and with the low prices for solar electric panels today you can hardly go wrong.

Going ‘off-grid’ for electricity is a nice challenge, but it may not suit everyone.  For very low electricity demand I recommend solar PV only; for higher demand a combination with wind generators works better because of the low solar radiation in mid-winter.  Small hydro is also an option for very few sites.

I strongly recommend for anyone wanting to go off-grid to educate themselves about the technology and basic maintenance, especially if using wind generators.  It also helps if you are prepared to adjust your lifestyle to it, e.g. running a washing machine or hoover when the weather suits. The perception of unlimited energy (“just plug it in”) may soon show what it is: an illusion.

You mentioned that you are focussing on sustainable transportation now, why so?

During the last decade, I felt that heating and electricity generation are at least moving in the right direction – but transport in the opposite.  The increase in road and air traffic more than cancels out any progress in other areas.

Presently, I am planning a solar electric car charging station; I am also developing a gadget that can improve the performance of electric bicycles.

How soon might we have a better system for Ireland? 

Electric road transport has made big progress lately, however it will take a major shift in transport mode to reverse the trend.  Moving a ton of steel or more (a car) for moving just one person can never be sustainable. The ultimate energy-efficient transport is bicycles, including electric bicycles; they are even more efficient than walking.  Sure they may not suit any distance or any weather, therefore a combination with rail / bus transport and SMALL electric cars should be considered.

For example I could envisage railway stations connected by good cycling infrastructure and a roof made of solar panels over the car park, where electric cars can charge up while their owners travel e.g. to Dublin by train.

How can people find out more about you personally & your work & the course(s) you teach?

I would strongly recommend attending my class at the organic centre – https://www.theorganiccentre.ie/courses-and-training/courses-in-co-leitrim/  .

If overbooked, it may be repeated.  You can see some of my past projects on the website  www.naturalenergy.freesevers.com

Anything else you’d like to add / we should have asked?

I would like to emphasize that even the best of renewable technology cannot support unlimited growth. The era of ever larger houses, larger cars and faster transport has to come to an end. Any potential for economic growth needs to support quality, not quantity.

Fancy a change. Still time to apply " "There's a Full Time course for students each year which also has the potential to change lives, along with our soil and our wider environment," #OrganicGrowing #Biodiversity @BioDataCentre @leonie_Cee @campbellsuz https://t.co/QirKf0QV5p

— The Organic Centre (@organiccentreie) January 18, 2020

More information about Irish Tech News and the Business Showcase

FYI the ROI for you is => Irish Tech News now gets over 1.5 million monthly views, and up to 900k monthly unique visitors, from over 160 countries. We have over 860,000 relevant followers on Twitter on our various accounts & were recently described as Ireland’s leading online tech news site and Ireland’s answer to TechCrunch, so we can offer you a good audience!

Since introducing desktop notifications a short time ago, which notify readers directly in their browser of new articles being published, over 16000 people have now signed up to receive them ensuring they are instantly kept up to date on all our latest content. Desktop notifications offer a unique method of serving content directly to verified readers and bypass the issue of content getting lost in people’s crowded news feeds.

Drop us a line if you want to be featured, guest post, suggest a possible interview, or just let us know what you would like to see more of in our future articles. We’re always open to new and interesting suggestions for informative and different articles. Contact us, by email, twitter or whatever social media works for you and hopefully we can share your story too and reach our global audience.

Irish Tech News

If you would like to have your company featured in the Irish Tech News Business Showcase, get in contact with us at [email protected] or on Twitter: @SimonCocking