Very interesting facts

[John D]

I thought the following link would be of some interest.
If I remember a few WAB Members have been saying this for ages.

Express.co.uk - Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | UK News :: Blackout Britain faces big turn off

John D

[Lancashire Lad]

But John,

Derek Birkett is only an electrical engineer who has spent his entire working life in the electrical supply industry.

Like you and I, and other like minded people, what does he know.

It is the Euroclowns and their sycophants (our MP's) who are determining our energy policies, and they only seem capable of shouting the renewable energy mantra, at the expense of solid engineering practice and in direct opposition to what a growing number of highly qualified (within the energy supply industry) people are saying.

Anyone with any sense knows that we need a fully integrated energy policy, including renewables, but with the main players being those technologies that can readily supply the base load demand.

Putting 30% of our energy demand eggs in the wind power basket, as is the current governmental policy, is a recipe for disaster.

It will cost the consumer £billions over and above what would otherwise be necessary, and, (unless substantial numbers of gas powered back-up generating stations are also built - which would then be grossly inefficient due to intermittent use, and at vast additional costs again), I categorically state that such a percentage reliance on wind power will do nothing for the environment, and will have Britain in a power cuts situation on very many occasions in any given year.

But, such practicalities are quietly brushed aside by the politician policy makers. Renewables sounds good, and there are far too many people ready to fall in line with the claims, without having the least bit of factual knowledge of the rocky road these claims are taking us all down.

Regards,
Mike.

[John D]

Hi Mike,
What does he and some others know ??
Yes, the quicker more people waken up to the reality the better.

Another quote from the same paper reads -
'it was revealed that Scotland's wind farms produced only around half the amount of power they expected this year, sparking serious concerns about security of supply'.

Another quote by a spokesman for Caithness Wind Information Forum reads

''official data showed that windturbines were operating at less than five per cent of output for almost two months out of five''. He goes on to say ''the more we rely on it and the less we use fossil fuels the more likely there is to be a set of circumstances when - with very high demand and very low output - the only thing is to turn customers off''.

When oh when will the 'powers that be' start to realise that it will be many years yet and a need for many trials and 'head scratching' before renewable energy sources will, if ever, be able to replace the proven and reliable methods that are currently operating.
Time is running out fast and the 'dark days' may be sooner rather than later.

John D
Zenfolio | John's Wild World

[Rich_]

Could end up buying power from foreigners to make up for the shortfall .

[John D]

Rich , That could be a possibility but at great cost.
Anything could be possible if the correct decisions are not made very soon.

John D

Zenfolio | John's Wild World

[Fuzzy-felt bloke]

The big problem with energy supply/security debates is that they are always one sided (like this news item), would love to read a well balanced article in the press, but that will never happen. James Lovelock (2004) said that the green movement will be blamed by future generations for opposing nuclear power and sacrificing energy security. My fear is that I will again see black-outs but this time (unlike the 70’s) it will bring the UK to a standstill due to our reliance on electricity.

Fuzzy-Felt Bloke

Ref: http://www.ecolo.org/base/baseen.htm

[STYRBJORN]

Originally Posted by Rich_

Could end up buying power from foreigners to make up for the shortfall .

We already do. If our dodgy electrical power supplies fail we buy in from France. 92% nuclear but hey the hippies can have a clear conscience.

[John D]

Originally Posted by STYRBJORN

We already do. If our dodgy electrical power supplies fail we buy in from France. 92% nuclear but hey the hippies can have a clear conscience.

Yes Styrbjorn, but the current import and transmission capacity wouldn't be enough if the worst was to happen. However France does have a very large nuclear generating capacity as you have pointed out and thus a very sustainable and proven system..

John D

[Lancashire Lad]

This article from the Institution of Engineering & Technology online magazine, aptly sums up the situation, and is well worth reading by anyone with an interest in Britain’s energy policy & supply requirements: -
Will we run out of electricity? - The IET

Two quotes from that article show the government’s ineptitude quite clearly: -

QUOTE

Wind power on and off shore, after three generations of design development, remains an intermittent source with high maintenance costs and relatively short operating life and, after an explosion of demand in 2008, the manufacturers are now reporting a reduction in orders of 38 per cent for this year. This has prompted the Government to increase the subsidy on wind farms in the form of increased Renewable Obligation Certificates presumably as an attempt to satisfy the EU constraint.

UNQUOTE

Efficacy appears to be the last thing being considered. – Never mind the cost, throw more public money at it in the form of yet further increases in subsidies, (which are already ridiculously high for wind power). The Eurocrats have spoken, and our government is quite happy to bow and scrape accordingly. And, of course, wind power is ever so green, so it makes political sense to pander to that very large section of voters – who can’t see the real issues through their rose tinted spectacles.

QUOTE

Incredibly, the Energy Act specifically ruled out further involvement in spent fuel reprocessing. This goes against some expert opinions, who argued that its inclusion would provide a huge source of fuel here at home, without any reliance on imports, and that it would advance Britain’s innovative and successful nuclear fuel manufacturing sector.

UNQUOTE

Woah! – This has something to do with nuclear power – so it must be bad!
The fact that Britain is amongst the world leaders in nuclear energy technology seems to be lost on our politicians. – Admittedly, they are slowly coming round to the fact that nuclear power will be the only viable solution within the timescale, but they have had their heads buried in the sand so long that many years worth of construction time has already been lost – and yet they still keep prevaricating!

Regards,
Mike.

[STYRBJORN]

Wrong question:- do we want nuclear power?
Right answer:- No no a thousand times no.
Right question:- do we need nuclear power?
Right answer:- Yup. No choice.