Dark days ahead

[hairyarse2]

http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?

A shortage of power-generation capacity could lead to blackouts across Britain—and a dangerous reliance on foreign gas

Britain is running short of power too—so quickly that some economists claim, only just tongue-in-cheek, that the economic slowdown is useful. “A recession is the best demand-reduction policy ever invented,” says Dieter Helm, an energy economist at Oxford University. Many power stations are due to close over the coming decade (see chart 1), and supplies are getting tight. The government reckons that, of a total of around 75GW in generating capacity, 20GW will disappear by 2015.

Since coal is too dirty, nuclear plants are too slow to build and renewables are of only limited use, investors are turning towards more gas plants

As The North Sea gas supplies have peaked, and we are now relying on foreign imports, why are we know building more gas fired power stations.

When the lights start going out across The UK, will the government of the day, decide that global warming isn't actually happening.
Perhaps, start building some coal fired power stations, reopen Our coal mines, thus rebuilding our communities and thus provide thousands of proper jobs that actually pay into the tax system, instead of tax funded jobs,that are provided for anyone and everyone, as long as it keeps the unemployment figures down.

Just think of the amount of jobs that would be created if one coal mine reopened. Re-introduction of apprenticeships.(Reduction in chavs) From transportation to the humble bacon buttie shop. Everyone would be a winner.












I would probably have got away with it, if it wasn't for that 'pesky global warming'

 

[dogberry]

I would recommend that anyone with a serious interest in this have a read of Sustainable Energy – without the hot air which you can pay to buy or download for free. It's a clever book, very well reviewed, that tries to deal in facts and not hyperbole, and presents it all in a reasonably simple way (with appendices of spod calculations for the technically minded).

Sadly its conclusion is also that, without massive changes, we're stuffed

 

[parapauk]

The problem is that the best solution to this problem, nuclear power, will be fought at every turn by both those who are ideologically opposed to it and those who have to live near it. The domestic coal idea would be viable as we are a world leader in clean coal tech had we not throw away our mines. We don't have the skills base to go back to coal in less than 10 years, and most of the closed mines are no longer usable anyway due to flooding etc.

 

[Maninthestreet]

We need to start fixing this NOW. This isn't new news, it's flippin years old. Nuke is the easy, quick(ten years or so) , fix to this and IMHO, anybody that thinks otherwise should be used fossil fuel.
I hear wind turbines are the way to go, has aybody noticed that the only UK wind turbine manufacturer is closing due to lack of demand.
Fukkin hippies and nimbies, loads of fuel there.

Sorry about the illiterate rant, it's bedtime

edit: what he said

 

[alhucoll]

Nuclear is the answer.
Working in the drilling game at the coal face of exploration...........
there is a sh@t load still out there to tap - it'll just cost a lot more.
All (most) the shallow fields are tapped, so it's now mainly HPHT (high pressure, high temperature) wells that will be needed in the future.
Ah, these are expensive to drill - so if who ever is in power, CUT the taxes and operators will drill and produce from them!
If it isn't cost effectice...........economics, the operators won't drill the @uckers and then we'll have to rely on someone else!
And if we drill them, my jobs safe as a muddy!

Al

 

[doc80905]

Build more nuclear power stations. It's the most efficient, greenest, cleanest solution we have at the moment.

 

[Semper_Flexibilis]

Go nuclear like the French, They are already 90% nuclear, in a few years they will be 100% nuclear… smart people, not only do they meet all their own needs, but they export 20% of that capacity at a handsome profit to Britain amongst other countries.

From 2020 they intend to replace their current 59 + 2 building nuclear power stations at the rate of just over 1 every year with bigger 1,600MW plants

 

[stacker1]

Build more nuclear power stations. It's the most efficient, greenest, cleanest solution we have at the moment.

And looking after nuclear waste for the 700000 years or so will be green?

 

[Maninthestreet]

Build more nuclear power stations. It's the most efficient, greenest, cleanest solution we have at the moment.

And looking after nuclear waste for the 700000 years or so will be green?

Hi, First in the line for living without even hexy telly take a seat on the left dude

 

[Contrarian]

Edited due to p1ssed up mongness.

 

[Semper_Flexibilis]

Build more nuclear power stations. It's the most efficient, greenest, cleanest solution we have at the moment.

And looking after nuclear waste for the 700000 years or so will be green?

We have two huge and underused nuclear waste storage sites in Britain…

Wales and Scotland.

 

[stacker1]

Build more nuclear power stations. It's the most efficient, greenest, cleanest solution we have at the moment.

And looking after nuclear waste for the 700000 years or so will be green?

Hi, First in the line for living without even hexy telly take a seat on the left dude

Thanks I quite like my leccy, just pointing out nuclear is far from green and a lot more dangerous than coal/oil/gas.

 

[hairyarse2]

The problem is that the best solution to this problem, nuclear power, will be fought at every turn by both those who are ideologically opposed to it and those who have to live near it. The domestic coal idea would be viable as we are a world leader in clean coal tech had we not throw away our mines. We don't have the skills base to go back to coal in less than 10 years, and most of the closed mines are no longer usable anyway due to flooding etc.

I don't disagree with you, especially the nuclear option, I wouldn't like to live near one myself.
As for the coal mines, we, as a country are sat on a fortune, to not to re-invest in it (or even consider it in the protection of Our energy supplies in todays uncertain world) is just madness.
I remember a time when we had coal mines, loads of local firms supporting them. Close a mine down and 500 people might lose their jobs.
Lots and lots of people in the support industries, would also lose theirs.
As a young lad, I also remember my Dad taking me to his local, where everyone knew each other, because they all worked at, if not the same place, then around the corner. It was a proper sense of community,where they would take their wifes out on a Saturday night.
Knowadays, there is no social cohesion anymore. Can you imagine The Army finishing work at 16.30, then all the lads going to their rooms and not socialising until they turn up for work the next morning.
It's the same for civvy street. Without a community spirit, we are all poorer, perhaps, in a few years time when the lights go out, we might develop a siege mentality. We shall see.

 

[Maninthestreet]

Build more nuclear power stations. It's the most efficient, greenest, cleanest solution we have at the moment.

And looking after nuclear waste for the 700000 years or so will be green?

Hi, First in the line for living without even hexy telly take a seat on the left dude

Thanks I quite like my leccy, just pointing out nuclear is far from green and a lot more dangerous than coal/oil/gas.

I wish to flip there was another way but I honestly think that we need to man up and go for the intermediate (?) nuke thing while we work out how to do without fossil fuels.

I like my leccy too

 

[Majorpain]

Build more nuclear power stations. It's the most efficient, greenest, cleanest solution we have at the moment.

And looking after nuclear waste for the 700000 years or so will be green?

Thats what THORP at Sellafield does (When its not leaking everywhere).

Take the waste, take out the majority low radioactive stuff and compress the really lethal stuff into a small disc.

Take 1 X isolated Scottish island, drill a big hole and viola.

 

[maninblack]

Is the "Dirty CO2" game just the next Russian financed CND type trick?

Think and debate.

 

[Semper_Flexibilis]

Build more nuclear power stations. It's the most efficient, greenest, cleanest solution we have at the moment.

And looking after nuclear waste for the 700000 years or so will be green?

Hi, First in the line for living without even hexy telly take a seat on the left dude

Thanks I quite like my leccy, just pointing out nuclear is far from green and a lot more dangerous than coal/oil/gas.

Bull!

How many people die from the fumes released by burning coal/gas/oil in the UK in a year versus the steam that is the only thing released by a nuclear power station?

How much carbon dioxide is released by a coal/gas/oil power station versus the zero released by a nuclear power station?

 

[doc80905]

Build more nuclear power stations. It's the most efficient, greenest, cleanest solution we have at the moment.

And looking after nuclear waste for the 700000 years or so will be green?

But nuclear is a slightly better solution than blackouts and the end of life as we know it

I'd like to think that good science will devise a way to deal with nuclear waste eventually.

 

[leveller]

Build more nuclear power stations. It's the most efficient, greenest, cleanest solution we have at the moment.

And looking after nuclear waste for the 700000 years or so will be green?

But nuclear is a slightly better solution than blackouts and the end of life as we know it

I'd like to think that good science will devise a way to deal with nuclear waste eventually.

Depends if fusion can be attained. But in the short term magic moon beems (nuke) is the best option, but have we left it too late??

 

[doc80905]

I don't disagree with you, especially the nuclear option, I wouldn't like to live near one myself.

Living out in the sticks, near a mahoosive onshore windfarm, give me nuclear any day.

Without a community spirit, we are all poorer, perhaps, in a few years time when the lights go out, we might develop a siege mentality. We shall see.

Surveillence society, CCTV, bin Police, dodgy wars, yada yada yada. You'll never get a seige mentality out of Britain again unfortunately. The general population would probably shrug their shoulders and get on with it if there were widespread blackouts. FFS most folk can't even be arrsed to vote these days, shows how bothered they are!