Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 3:52 pm Post subject: Re: Rising fear of energy crisis in UK
Yes, we're in a bind. Most of our current nuclear reactor fleet is due for decommissioning in the coming years, some of it only after life extensions! But by 2015, that game is up. Old coal plants have been or are being shut down, with the LCPD not helping matters on the same time horizon unless it is quietly buried. Wind can't expand fast enough. So it's gas, gas, gas. The lack of progress on energy policy in the last ten years has left us with that one card to play.
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 4:13 pm Post subject: Re: Rising fear of energy crisis in UK
Twilight wrote:
Yes, we're in a bind. Most of our current nuclear reactor fleet is due for decommissioning in the coming years, some of it only after life extensions! But by 2015, that game is up. Old coal plants have been or are being shut down, with the LCPD not helping matters on the same time horizon unless it is quietly buried. Wind can't expand fast enough. So it's gas, gas, gas. The lack of progress on energy policy in the last ten years has left us with that one card to play.
It just cannot be that bad.
UK is about to build number of nuke plants.
Joined: Feb 20, 2005 Posts: 2680 Location: Uppsala, Sweden
Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2007 5:54 pm Post subject: Re: Rising fear of energy crisis in UK
But the Brits put their faith in "free markets" and marginal pricing of electricity and with no government intervention in the financing, something which doesn't mix very well with massive nuclear power expansions.
"Too little and too late" comes to mind. _________________ Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
Posted: Sat Nov 03, 2007 7:57 am Post subject: Re: Rising fear of energy crisis in UK
EnergyUnlimited wrote:
Twilight wrote:
Yes, we're in a bind. Most of our current nuclear reactor fleet is due for decommissioning in the coming years, some of it only after life extensions! But by 2015, that game is up. Old coal plants have been or are being shut down, with the LCPD not helping matters on the same time horizon unless it is quietly buried. Wind can't expand fast enough. So it's gas, gas, gas. The lack of progress on energy policy in the last ten years has left us with that one card to play.
It just cannot be that bad.
UK is about to build number of nuke plants.
You wanna bet on when?
I would hate to do a Cramer on this, but the government is full of crap on this. On their consultation timetable, on their expectations of how fast industry can move, and on financing. It's going to be privately financed without government backing... during a historic credit dislocation. Oh yeah, right. Someone back there is a few months behind on their news.
But what hurts most is the government won't come out publicly in support. Whatever they say in private, until they commit in such fashion that they have something vital to lose by going back on their word, there will be an element of doubt, a lack of urgency, slower progress.
I was reading a newspaper article a few days ago about the government suffering a manpower shortage in the team reviewing reactor design proposals, causing a backlog of work. They increased the salary on offer by 15% and were puzzled by the lack of interest. Some other department refused to allow them funding to increase the offer further. We're talking a handful of experts here. The money to hire them isn't being made available because of an inter-departmental funding squabble. On this issue of all issues. The people responsible should be fired in a farking daytime TV news interview. It's utter bullshit. Yet no-one up there is acting like it matters.
Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 2498 Location: Ye Olde Englande
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 12:54 pm Post subject: Re: Rising fear of energy crisis in UK
Moving on to Electricity Generation....
According to the BP Statistics 398.5 Twh were generated in the UK in 2006. This link shows that electricity generation for the 2nd quarter was down just 0.1 percent from the same period last year.
Quote:
Final consumption of electricity fell by 0.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2007 compared with a year earlier. Consumption by the domestic sector was down by 1.7 per cent. Commercial, public administration, transport and agricultural consumption fell by 0.8 per cent, while industrial use of electricity was up by 1.9 per cent.
Expectations would be that total generation for 2007 would be virtually flat or around the same figure for 2006 if the 0.1% rate holds out for the rest of the year. _________________ "The age of excess is over. The age of entropy has begun"
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 2:17 pm Post subject: Re: Rising fear of energy crisis in UK
Starvid wrote:
Swedish Energy (organisation of large energy consuming companies) are warning that we will have rolling blackouts if we'll get a "ten year winter", that is, the kind of cold we get on average every ten years.
That is, of course, unacceptable.
The reason we are in this mess is increasing Russian demand, which means no Russian power exports to Finland, which means no power exports to Sweden. At least this is what they are saying. The real reason is that we have allowed demand to get separated from supply.
Clearly, we need a few more nuclear reactors. Big ones.
The same goes for Britain.
We are on the boat as you are. There have been some warnings of blackouts, but the power company guy said blackouts would be short. We are lagging behind schedule building the fifth nuke plant due to poor quality concrete which is not good enough for the plant.
Joined: Apr 05, 2005 Posts: 1620 Location: Springsteen Country (NJ)
Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2007 3:06 pm Post subject: Re: Rising fear of energy crisis in UK
Tuike wrote:
Starvid wrote:
Swedish Energy (organisation of large energy consuming companies) are warning that we will have rolling blackouts if we'll get a "ten year winter", that is, the kind of cold we get on average every ten years.
That is, of course, unacceptable.
The reason we are in this mess is increasing Russian demand, which means no Russian power exports to Finland, which means no power exports to Sweden. At least this is what they are saying. The real reason is that we have allowed demand to get separated from supply.
Clearly, we need a few more nuclear reactors. Big ones.
The same goes for Britain.
We are on the boat as you are. There have been some warnings of blackouts, but the power company guy said blackouts would be short. We are lagging behind schedule building the fifth nuke plant due to poor quality concrete which is not good enough for the plant.
Why is the reaction always for more unsustainable development instead of somebody suggesting the real solution is population reduction and powering down?
Don't you guys realize that's exactly what got us into this predicament in the first place? _________________ Joe P. United Political Debate
"Only when the last tree is cut; only when the last river is polluted; only when the last fish is caught; only then will they realize that you cannot eat money." - Cree Indian Proverb
Joined: Feb 20, 2005 Posts: 2680 Location: Uppsala, Sweden
Posted: Wed Nov 07, 2007 2:26 pm Post subject: Re: Rising fear of energy crisis in UK
joewp wrote:
Tuike wrote:
Starvid wrote:
Swedish Energy (organisation of large energy consuming companies) are warning that we will have rolling blackouts if we'll get a "ten year winter", that is, the kind of cold we get on average every ten years.
That is, of course, unacceptable.
The reason we are in this mess is increasing Russian demand, which means no Russian power exports to Finland, which means no power exports to Sweden. At least this is what they are saying. The real reason is that we have allowed demand to get separated from supply.
Clearly, we need a few more nuclear reactors. Big ones.
The same goes for Britain.
We are on the boat as you are. There have been some warnings of blackouts, but the power company guy said blackouts would be short. We are lagging behind schedule building the fifth nuke plant due to poor quality concrete which is not good enough for the plant.
Why is the reaction always for more unsustainable development instead of somebody suggesting the real solution is population reduction and powering down?
Don't you guys realize that's exactly what got us into this predicament in the first place?
It's pretty easy to see that the problem on the electricity front is lack of supply.
It didn't help that the farking Greens forced a premature shutdown of a 1200 MW nuclear plant, which was all paid off and would be sorely needed today. It was supposed to close in 2035, not 5 years ago.
And then they replaced it with to little new capacity, and of course gas fired.
Morons!
Our saving grace has been massive uprates at the remaining plants. Something like 2000-2500 MW of which more than half has already been completed.
In spite of the shutdown of 2 perfectly fine 600 MW reactors, the remaining 10 unit reactor fleet produce more power than ever, more than when we had 12 reactors online.
Shares in British Energy fell as much as 8% after the company failed to say when four of its nuclear reactors would return to service.
Last month, the firm took two reactors at Hartlepool and two at Heysham out of service following a routine inspection.
In an update, British Energy said it had discovered wire corrosion at Heysham 1 Reactor 1.
The problem was a similar one to that found at the Hartlepool Reactor 1 plant which led to the shutdown in October.
British Energy said inspections of Heysham 1 Reactor 2 had started, while inspections would begin at Hartlepool Reactor 2 shortly.
The company said the problem uncovered was a "complex issue" and added that "a timetable for the return to service of these units can only be formed when inspections and a full assessment of the situation have been completed".
British Energy's shares closed down 7% at 514.5 pence.
British Energy Group is the UK's largest producer of electricity. It operates eight nuclear power stations and one coal-fired power station.
Everyone, say after me: never ever build gas cooled reactors!
If they had planned instead of relying on the free market, this situation would never have happened. _________________ Peak oil is not an energy crisis. It is a liquid fuel crisis.
Total Imports:21.06 bcm
Pipeline:17.50 bcm
LNG:3.56 bcm
Norway accounts for about 2/3 of imported gas, whilst the Algerians are our biggest supplier of LNG.
Interesting how little we get from mainland Europe, through Holland and Belgium. Perhaps all this talk about Russians cutting the supply off is hyped up too much. _________________ "The age of excess is over. The age of entropy has begun"
All times are GMT - 6 Hours Goto page Previous1, 2
Page 2 of 2
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
News
Discussions
Resources
Members
Forum FAQ
Search
Usergroups
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
