Guest 725- Registered: 7 Oct 2011
- Posts: 1,418
Is the headline to a piece about the decision by E.ON and RWE to pull out from building new nuclear plants in the UK.
So that's it then. As I've been warning for a long time we are facing an energy crunch in this country due to the stupidity and ineptitude of this and previous government's policies on energy.
This really is a game changer. Forget filling up your Jerry can in order to be able to drive a little further this has the potential to cause widespread civil unrest.
Because of David Cameron's prevarication on these matters and his steadfast belief in mad cultish pseudo-scientific theories we will face a shortfall in energy output over the next few years. We are shutting down perfectly good coal fired power stations in order to "save the planet" while China and India and Germany are busy building hundreds of them.
Vote Tory get green.
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
i read a bit about this, do we know why the companies pulled out?
i believe one was planned for anglesey that is desperate for jobs.
Guest 730- Registered: 5 Nov 2011
- Posts: 221
Not just David Cameron prevaricating, we should have had a proper energy policy years ago. Relying on windmills is madness.
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
The two German companies pulled out because of a new law in Germany following the Japanese nuclear disaster last year.
Germany is to close its nuclear power plants within the next decade or so. This will cause the two mentioned German firms (E.ON and RWE) to lose out on income in Germany, hence they cannot afford to go ahead with the two planned atom stations in England and Wales.
We should close down all nuclear power plants in Britain, they are far too dangerous.
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
In this respect, England and Wales should follow Scotland's footsteps. The Scottish Government has banned any nuclear power plants from future energy strategy north of the Wall.
Guest 725- Registered: 7 Oct 2011
- Posts: 1,418
I'm sorry Alexander but Scotland is run by idiots as we are in the rest of the UK. They have this grand vision whereby they believe that they can not only power their grid by windfarms but export it too. Idiots is too short a word.
I don't know if you realise that in order to run a wind farm you need an alternative supply of normal output in order to kick in when the wind does not blow which is most of the time.
Not only that but they are arch hypocrites by lying to people that wind energy is sacred and blessed and fossil fuels are evil but are vehement in their greed when it comes to grabbing every penny from offshore oil and gas rigs.
Now that is disgusting.
As for Germany they truly are the blessed ones or so they think. So they shut down all their nuclear capacity but are in the process of building well over 20 coal fired power plants.
Madness utter madness.
If you believe, really believe like one might believe that alternative energy is our salvation then great, go ahead and pay for it yourself. Count me out I don't earn enough money.
Of course those who do well out of wind farms, say David Cameron's father in law who earns a million every year from having these things on his land are sitting pretty.
All in this together eh? Ha ha ha.
Guest 730- Registered: 5 Nov 2011
- Posts: 221
I think we should have more nuclear power, seems the only sensible solution to me. France gets about 80% of it's power from nuclear I believe and they haven't had any problems as far as I know, and any new ones built now would be even safer.
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
Philip, the Scottish Parliament also promotes wave and tidal power research.
The Scottish way will spread south of the Wall, ecological energy strategy will prevail.
Scottish oil and gas is limited, it is running out, and so Scotland can't go on supplying all Britain with free oil and gas.
Nuclear power plants are on their way out, they are far too expensive, and dangerous.
Without Scottish oil and gas for free, Britain would have gone bankrupt in the 70s, but now Scotland is showing us a new way, and we must follow.
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
i note that the two german companys that pulled out due to there goverments green policy,leaving a french company [edf] holding the hot potato.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
By a quirk of fate I went to Dungeness yesterday partly to photograph the nuclear power station there which is closing down. You never know when a picture of it might be topical, thought I, and this story broke last night so it suddenly became very topical.
The sad fact is that we dont seem to have the know-how to build our own nuclear power stations in this country any more. We rely on foreign expertise which is a sad state to be in. The two German ones mentioned RWE and E-on no longer see building nuclear power stations here in the UK as viable. The nuclear power stations closing in Germany, is effecting and will effect their projected bank balance, and they no longer want to finance projects in the UK...basically because the return on the huge investment needed takes way too long in the case of Nuclear Power.
In the case of Dungeness, the power stations there are being decomissioned. The Government see the location as too risky to invest in a new station on site, due say HMG to the threat of flooding mostly...this thinking following on from the Tsunami in Japan. But this is not a case of NIMBYism, a disease which so often blights local development...the people in the surrounding areas want the station to continue, it has been there in one shape or another since the 1950's, it offers jobs in a low employment area...and of course generates local power on a grand scale.
And here she is...basking in yesterdays sunshine..
This shot below of the daffodils.. taken in the shadow of Nuclear Power, shows how normal life carries on in its immediate wake.
Guest 725- Registered: 7 Oct 2011
- Posts: 1,418
According to the BWEA, the British wind energy association "Wind turbines start operating at wind speeds of 4 to 5 metres per second (around 10 miles an hour) and reach maximum power output at around 15 metres/second (around 33 miles per hour)".
Here's a handy little map to show us how fast the wind is today all over the UK:
Draw your own conclusions.
http://www.xcweather.co.uk/GB/forecastGuest 683- Registered: 11 Feb 2009
- Posts: 1,052
Although 10 year mean wind speed figures show North Sea wind speeds to be about 10 m/s.
http://www.4coffshore.com/windfarms/windspeeds.aspx
Draw your own conclusions.
Guest 703- Registered: 30 Jul 2010
- Posts: 2,096
Mean speeds are meaningless unless you quote details of the distribution.
Mark's quoted mean could be winds between 8 and 12 m/s over 10 years with an equal distribution either side (unlikely) or between 0 and 100+ m/s with a bias towards the low end (more like the real situation)
Guest 730- Registered: 5 Nov 2011
- Posts: 221
If we must have green energy wave or tidal power makes more sense to me than wind, if it can be made to work. And what about rivers? Ther must be a lot of disused mills around the country perhaps they could be bought back to life generating electricity. How many mills did Dover have in the past for example? Just an idea.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
The new generation of nuclear power stations are the safest and cleanest way to generate energy. We desperately need such power stations to stop the lights going out in not so many years time. The title of this thread is totally wrong, not a blow to the government, it is a blow to all of us who use electricity.
Yes the ordering of these stations is way overdue and it should have happened over 10 years ago. Any delay over the last couple of years come down to Philips mate Huhne who is thankfully no longer there.
Guest 725- Registered: 7 Oct 2011
- Posts: 1,418
Philip's mate Huhne - Barry that did make me laugh I spat my tea on my keyboard. Thanks for that.
Funny you bring up the title of this thread but you're right and I did indeed mean to point out exactly what you say about it being a blow to all of us but got slightly sidetracked.
Funny enough last night's Newsnight featured a three way between Peter Lilley, some clown from eco-nightmare organisation Plane stupid but more worrying some Herbert called Tom Burke who is an energy analyst who has over the years advised three environment secretaries.
He believes in what is the equivalent of rain dancing which goes part way to explaining the hopeless situation we find ourselves in.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
Glad to oblige Philip...
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
Colin, how right you are.
One of my projects for the future is a research centre in Dover for development in the sphere of ecological energy, as well as irrigation in semi-desert areas abroad.
I know that one day we'll see electric buses running in Dover.
No invention comes about without research.
Brian Dixon- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
barryw,dont panic george and david have it under controll.still one thing you could get some green energy yourself,then sell off any excess back to the national grid thus helping with the shortfall.
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
Colin as I understand it Wave/Tidal power is way too expensive. Massive costs up front and in the current global economic climate who can afford it. The cheapest to build are gas turbines but costly to run because of the amount of expensive gas needed to run them. Nuclear power stations are very expensive to build but relatively cheap to run..that's the real advantage, but the costs up front are massive. The government looks to private companies to fund the overall build of Nuclear Power Stations with help from large scale grants..this is as I understand it.
The current economics, and the immediate future economic outlook, has resulted in German companies E-On and RWE taking a walk from the scene.
This was what Philip was referring to earlier when he said the government were stuffed...two of the main players in the game have withdrawn...leaving HMG up the river with maybe just one paddle. This leaves the market clear for the even bigger French company EDF, the other paddle, who are still in the field.
There was also talk this morning of employing and using Russian technology, they have the know-how, but isnt that a kind of weird situation..remember Chernobyl, although Im sure lessons have been learnt...but who wants the risk. I felt much happier with the Germans myself!
Alex...The wind farm scenario does not produce anything like the amount needed but assists the national grid with a small percentage. The only real option at this time seems to be Nuclear Power. It will provide the bulk of the requirements whereas green energy will supply a small amount and would not fulfill our needs and could not for the forseeable future.
email: dover7@msn.com
