Omega Owners Forum

Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: Nickbat on 11 June 2008, 12:44:52

Title: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: Nickbat on 11 June 2008, 12:44:52
I blame the politicians, the EU and the eco-fascists.  >:( >:( >:( >:(

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1025586/FUEL-CRISIS-Forget-warnings-panic-pumps-Thanks-decades-government-neglect-Britain-set-lose-nearly-half-electricity-years.html
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: Growler on 11 June 2008, 12:52:33
Now that is worrying.
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: Elite Pete on 11 June 2008, 12:54:44
It doesn't bother me, I will be living in France within the next ten years ::)
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: Martin_1962 on 11 June 2008, 12:55:36
Firstly keep the coal ones going regardless - we have enough military handle the EU if they get stupid, and I am sure the French would be on our side!

Start building nuclear today, not tomorrow but this afternoon.

Why can't we get another year or two from the existing ones?

Get shops to turn off lights at night, do the motorways really need lights on all night, vehicles do have headlamps.
Same with street lighting.

Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: Kieran on 11 June 2008, 12:56:39
Typical global warming con. >:( The goverment are so concerned about hitting their emmisson targets they let the country go to ruin at our expense. We have a mountain of coal but can not use it,we sell off all our businesses to overseas companies then the green lobby get pissed off when we mention nuclear power. I for one hate the look of wind turbines and they generate such little power for their size. :(
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: Kevin Wood on 11 June 2008, 12:57:48
We're doomed.  >:(

That's what happens when your government doesn't think past tomorrow's headlines or, occasionally, an impending election.

If the country doesn't have a stable, professionally drawn up energy policy that is adhered to and not changed every fourtnight to counter tabloid headlines, there is no climate in which our (private sector) energy industry will invest. No investment means a crumbling infrastructure.

It's no different for water supply, the rail network, roads, telecomms, etc.

Kevin
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: Growler on 11 June 2008, 12:58:00
Quote
Firstly keep the coal ones going regardless - we have enough military handle the EU if they get stupid, and I am sure the French would be on our side!

Start building nuclear today, not tomorrow but this afternoon.

Why can't we get another year or two from the existing ones?

Get shops to turn off lights at night, do the motorways really need lights on all night, vehicles do have headlamps.
Same with street lighting.

That is soo true regards the motorway lighting, we could extend that to all the pointless sets of traffic lights out there as well,
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: psychnurse on 11 June 2008, 13:00:42
Build nuclear power plants in all cities and the warm generated will save the heating bills for millions  :y

Nothing supprises me anymore
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: bedders on 11 June 2008, 16:35:29
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It doesn't bother me, I will be living in France within the next ten years ::)

So shall I be. Would have been there this year, but, our buyer pulled out. Have you a Department in mind?
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: Elite Pete on 11 June 2008, 16:45:35
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It doesn't bother me, I will be living in France within the next ten years ::)

So shall I be. Would have been there this year, but, our buyer pulled out. Have you a Department in mind?
I wanted to go sooner rather than later but weve only just got our youngest daughter to move out (at our expence) now the eldest is have a baby in September so ive got no chance of getting the wife to shift herself :( Northern France is to expensive due to the brits buying up and Southern France is to hot, so somewhere in the middleish. My Sister in Law had a place in Chateau Briant and I loved it there :y
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: theolodian on 11 June 2008, 17:17:31
Interesting how they never quote the actual generating capacity in the UK, or the growth in usage.  They only quote what may be lost as a percentage of use.  This assumes zero extra capacity in the system.
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: FRE07962128 on 11 June 2008, 17:56:19
That's it, I'm off to Malta! :o

Sounds like 'our world' in the UK is about to come tumbling down! :'( :'(   It is not surprising really, with (as the article states) successive governments ignoring the growing lack of increased electricity generation capability (nuclear or anything else) with dramatically escalating demand.  Something has to give eventually, and the warnings have been issued repeatedly in the past about it.  Now it's all coming home to roost! >:(  
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: FRE07962128 on 11 June 2008, 17:58:36
Quote
Interesting how they never quote the actual generating capacity in the UK, or the growth in usage.  They only quote what may be lost as a percentage of use.  This assumes zero extra capacity in the system.

This is the problem; there is not that 'extra capacity' available due to a lack of power station building but dramatically increasing demand!
 :(
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: Kevin Wood on 11 June 2008, 18:54:24
Quote
Quote
Interesting how they never quote the actual generating capacity in the UK, or the growth in usage.  They only quote what may be lost as a percentage of use.  This assumes zero extra capacity in the system.

This is the problem; there is not that 'extra capacity' available due to a lack of power station building but dramatically increasing demand!
 :(

The media never quote any figures that are likely to detract from the shock! horror! impact of a headline.

However, it's obvious that the UK has been heading for trouble for years.

An infrastructure geared up for the consumption of cheap gas now reliant on imports of expensive gas from Europe and Russia. When the pinch comes, are they going to export to us or look after no. 1? And export at what price?

Coal fired capacity decomissioned rather than cleaned-up as a quick fix in the last round of Environmental CO2 cutting nonsense.

Nuclear capacity on its' way out due to political procrastination. Yes, we can build some more, but we should have decided that 20 years ago.

Insufficient natural resources in this relatively small, relatively flat, relatively cloudy island for a significant contribution from renewables against targets from Brussels that don't take natural resources into account.

An increasingly market-driven private sector energy business in which profits take precedence over long and short term security of supply. Gone are the days when there was plenty of "spinning standby" on our grid. If a plant's steamed up it's got to be making money. If it fails and nothing's there to take up the load, the load is shed (= lights out).

Like everything else in this country, while we've been worrying about regime change, political correctness, inciting racial hatred, acts preparatory to terrorism etc. the grass has been growing merrily away under the things that really matter.  >:(

Kevin
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: FRE07962128 on 11 June 2008, 19:00:21
Quote
Quote
Quote
Interesting how they never quote the actual generating capacity in the UK, or the growth in usage.  They only quote what may be lost as a percentage of use.  This assumes zero extra capacity in the system.

This is the problem; there is not that 'extra capacity' available due to a lack of power station building but dramatically increasing demand!
 :(

The media never quote any figures that are likely to detract from the shock! horror! impact of a headline.

However, it's obvious that the UK has been heading for trouble for years.

An infrastructure geared up for the consumption of cheap gas now reliant on imports of expensive gas from Europe and Russia. When the pinch comes, are they going to export to us or look after no. 1? And export at what price?

Coal fired capacity decomissioned rather than cleaned-up as a quick fix in the last round of Environmental CO2 cutting nonsense.

Nuclear capacity on its' way out due to political procrastination. Yes, we can build some more, but we should have decided that 20 years ago.

Insufficient natural resources in this relatively small, relatively flat, relatively cloudy island for a significant contribution from renewables against targets from Brussels that don't take natural resources into account.

An increasingly market-driven private sector energy business in which profits take precedence over long and short term security of supply. Gone are the days when there was plenty of "spinning standby" on our grid. If a plant's steamed up it's got to be making money. If it fails and nothing's there to take up the load, the load is shed (= lights out).

Like everything else in this country, while we've been worrying about regime change, political correctness, inciting racial hatred, acts preparatory to terrorism etc. the grass has been growing merrily away under the things that really matter.  >:(

Kevin

Absolutely right Kevin! :y

I would also add that of course we are ALREADY relying on electricity generated in France and transmitted to us because of this shortage of generating capacity! >:(
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: Marks DTM Calib on 11 June 2008, 19:03:25
There is short term load available for peek use in the form of pumped storage but, we do have little spare continuous generating capacity.

Remember we do import about 5% (might be slightly lower these days) of our electricity needs from France thanks to our 2GW Bipole DC link and the spare juice in France is drying up......
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: miggy on 11 June 2008, 19:12:53
No No, we will never be short of elec, its just some jobs worth with nothing else to do but write cr*p like that.
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: FRE07962128 on 11 June 2008, 19:29:45
Quote
No No, we will never be short of elec, its just some jobs worth with nothing else to do but write cr*p like that.

I'd love to believe you are right, but I am afraid the facts are very different with the actual situation getting worse for a number of years now.  We simply do not have enough generating capacity! :'( :'(
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: miggy on 11 June 2008, 19:49:58
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Quote
No No, we will never be short of elec, its just some jobs worth with nothing else to do but write cr*p like that.

I'd love to believe you are right, but I am afraid the facts are very different with the actual situation getting worse for a number of years now.  We simply do not have enough generating capacity! :'( :'(

Lets see, but i bet we all have electric in years to come....cost us a fortune but we will have it, infastructure would fall to pieces and that will never happen..........Never mind, it will soon be christmas ;D ;D ;D ;D
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: HolyCount on 11 June 2008, 19:57:48
Worrying on the face of it -- but from experience I know not to generally believe what the Daily Mail prints
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: bedders on 11 June 2008, 20:07:12
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No No, we will never be short of elec, its just some jobs worth with nothing else to do but write cr*p like that.

I'm afraid we will.
The old Magnox nuclear stations are life expired & are being decommissioned at present, the big coal fired stations, like Drax, were built in the early seventies and it's doubful if we still have the engineering base to deal with a major boiler or turbine failure for example.
I have read that when/if new stations are built, engineers will have to be brought back from retirement for at least 5 years, to pass on their knowledge to the current crop, as we have lost our heavy engineering base/knowhow.
This is what happens when the market is King.
Our lead in clean burn technology (coal) was at the behest of Thatcher, sold to the Germans for a pittance, to teach the striking coal miners a lesson, now that was forward planning.  
 
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: miggy on 11 June 2008, 20:07:31
Quote
Worrying on the face of it -- but from experience I know not to generally believe what the Daily Mail prints


 :y :y....6 years ago there were reports that we would run out of the worlds resources of oil in 20 years.......pugwash, i work in the oil business and purchase base oils/crude etc from all over the world and we have at least 35 to 40 years left.
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: Elite Pete on 11 June 2008, 20:19:14
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Quote
Worrying on the face of it -- but from experience I know not to generally believe what the Daily Mail prints


 :y :y....6 years ago there were reports that we would run out of the worlds resources of oil in 20 years.......pugwash, i work in the oil business and purchase base oils/crude etc from all over the world and we have at least 35 to 40 years left.
Thats OK then, me and my Omega will be on the road till im 83 :)
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: amigov6 on 11 June 2008, 20:19:29
With all the scares about food (Edwina Currie) T bone steaks, property prices, crude oil by the barrel, global warming, food price increases & more & more & more.....etc......you all have two choices.
    1:- Worry & discuss.
    2:- Be shallow like me. I'm still alive & doing the same job 20yrs. later & we'll all be here worrying about something else in another 20yrs. albeit with a few more aches & pains but still here nonetheless.
    Such issues have gone on for generations & they will for many more with no more point than there is now. ::)
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: jereboam on 11 June 2008, 20:27:54
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Quote
Worrying on the face of it -- but from experience I know not to generally believe what the Daily Mail prints


 :y :y....6 years ago there were reports that we would run out of the worlds resources of oil in 20 years.......pugwash, i work in the oil business and purchase base oils/crude etc from all over the world and we have at least 35 to 40 years left.

That may well be the case, but do we really want to be using oil for electricity generation?  It has many much more valuable uses.  And given the current market shortfall/speculative free-for-all/whatever which is driving prices upwards at an unprecedented rate, how much would we have to pay for electricity from this source?
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: bedders on 11 June 2008, 20:46:24
Quote
Quote
Worrying on the face of it -- but from experience I know not to generally believe what the Daily Mail prints


 :y :y....6 years ago there were reports that we would run out of the worlds resources of oil in 20 years.......pugwash, i work in the oil business and purchase base oils/crude etc from all over the world and we have at least 35 to 40 years left.

The latest estimate was, I think, 40+ years for oil, and 60 odd for gas, which is all very well, but somewhere is needed to burn the damn stuff.
What a waste, when coal can be burnt relatively cleanly nowadays, with carbon capture also a possibility.
Drax (coal fired) is a 4000mw station, imagine the gas consumption required to replicate that ouput.
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: FRE07962128 on 11 June 2008, 20:49:15
Quote
Quote
Worrying on the face of it -- but from experience I know not to generally believe what the Daily Mail prints


 :y :y....6 years ago there were reports that we would run out of the worlds resources of oil in 20 years.......pugwash, i work in the oil business and purchase base oils/crude etc from all over the world and we have at least 35 to 40 years left.


But at what price as it is getting harder and more expensive to extract from alternative oil fields? :-?
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: FRE07962128 on 11 June 2008, 20:53:41
Quote
Quote
Quote
Worrying on the face of it -- but from experience I know not to generally believe what the Daily Mail prints


 :y :y....6 years ago there were reports that we would run out of the worlds resources of oil in 20 years.......pugwash, i work in the oil business and purchase base oils/crude etc from all over the world and we have at least 35 to 40 years left.

The latest estimate was, I think, 40+ years for oil, and 60 odd for gas, which is all very well, but somewhere is needed to burn the damn stuff.
What a waste, when coal can be burnt relatively cleanly nowadays, with carbon capture also a possibility.
Drax (coal fired) is a 4000mw station, imagine the gas consumption required to replicate that ouput.

Yes indeed, but the proposed, and desperately needed new coal fired power station at Kingsnorth, Kent, is now a MAJOR target for environmental protesters and so this project is obviously going to be seriously delayed! >:( >:(
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: miggy on 11 June 2008, 21:00:29
Quote
Quote
Quote
Worrying on the face of it -- but from experience I know not to generally believe what the Daily Mail prints


 :y :y....6 years ago there were reports that we would run out of the worlds resources of oil in 20 years.......pugwash, i work in the oil business and purchase base oils/crude etc from all over the world and we have at least 35 to 40 years left.

That may well be the case, but do we really want to be using oil for electricity generation?  It has many much more valuable uses.  And given the current market shortfall/speculative free-for-all/whatever which is driving prices upwards at an unprecedented rate, how much would we have to pay for electricity from this source?


Yeh, like oil changes on my miggy :y :y
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: bedders on 11 June 2008, 21:03:02
It is the generation side which is badly needed. Just like the rest of this country, what we have is knackered and because, most if not all of the supply companies are in foreign hands, there is not the forward planning which we had in the days of a National body.
If the environmentalists think we can produce enough energy by blowing round a few windmills, rather than have large stations on base load, I would suggest the last person to leave, turns the lights out, oh they may already be out by then.  
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: Omegatoy on 11 June 2008, 21:03:43
Simple answer is turn off the millions of cctv which are everywhere including motorways and are each connected to humongous control centres which run 24hrs a day 365 days a year!! as do stupid traffic lights which when you go to work at 3 in the morning on a deserted road you have to stop and wait for them to change thus wasting more fuel!! could go on but i dont live there anymore thank god!!!! :y
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: miggy on 11 June 2008, 21:04:20
Quote
Quote
Quote
Worrying on the face of it -- but from experience I know not to generally believe what the Daily Mail prints


 :y :y....6 years ago there were reports that we would run out of the worlds resources of oil in 20 years.......pugwash, i work in the oil business and purchase base oils/crude etc from all over the world and we have at least 35 to 40 years left.

That may well be the case, but do we really want to be using oil for electricity generation?  It has many much more valuable uses.  And given the current market shortfall/speculative free-for-all/whatever which is driving prices upwards at an unprecedented rate, how much would we have to pay for electricity from this source?

I was not saying use oil for elec generation, the point was not to belive all you read in the papers.

 :y
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: miggy on 11 June 2008, 21:09:17
Quote
Simple answer is turn off the millions of cctv which are everywhere including motorways and are each connected to humongous control centres which run 24hrs a day 365 days a year!! as do stupid traffic lights which when you go to work at 3 in the morning on a deserted road you have to stop and wait for them to change thus wasting more fuel!! could go on but i dont live there anymore thank god!!!! :y

Grass aint always greener, never forget your roots, the country might be in bits but i love this land to bits, and always will, i fought for her and would again, others gave the ultimate sacrifice for her.
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: Omegatoy on 11 June 2008, 21:16:09
Quote
Quote
Simple answer is turn off the millions of cctv which are everywhere including motorways and are each connected to humongous control centres which run 24hrs a day 365 days a year!! as do stupid traffic lights which when you go to work at 3 in the morning on a deserted road you have to stop and wait for them to change thus wasting more fuel!! could go on but i dont live there anymore thank god!!!! :y

Grass aint always greener, never forget your roots, the country might be in bits but i love this land to bits, and always will, i fought for her and would again, others gave the ultimate sacrifice for her.
done me bit for the country mate 9years i took the queens shilling
served in the turkish fiasco, Irelandhgermany, got a damaged spine courtesy of no health and safety then still love the country but hate the way its being changed by the pillocks nuff said!!!
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: miggy on 11 June 2008, 21:29:47
Quote
Quote
Quote
Simple answer is turn off the millions of cctv which are everywhere including motorways and are each connected to humongous control centres which run 24hrs a day 365 days a year!! as do stupid traffic lights which when you go to work at 3 in the morning on a deserted road you have to stop and wait for them to change thus wasting more fuel!! could go on but i dont live there anymore thank god!!!! :y

Grass aint always greener, never forget your roots, the country might be in bits but i love this land to bits, and always will, i fought for her and would again, others gave the ultimate sacrifice for her.
done me bit for the country mate 9years i took the queens shilling
served in the turkish fiasco, Irelandhgermany, got a damaged spine courtesy of no health and safety then still love the country but hate the way its being changed by the pillocks nuff said!!!


 :y :y :y
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: Nickbat on 11 June 2008, 21:42:30
Miggy, you're right about the myth of peak oil. As the price goes up, so marginal deposits become economical and, in any event, extraction technology improves with time. There is every possibility of seeing oil extraction from the the deep ocean beds in the future, BUT...

The environmentalists do not want us to burn oil or coal or have nuclear power. Add to that the EU has become obsessed with CO2 caps, so they are effectively shutting down our coal-fired stations. The environmentalists are so extreme that they frankly do not care what happens to industry, jobs, etc., since their aim is the collapse of western economies. No, I'm not being overly dramatic, I sincerely believe that to be true.

Nick  
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: miggy on 11 June 2008, 21:48:20
Quote
Miggy, you're right about the myth of peak oil. As the price goes up, so marginal deposits become economical and, in any event, extraction technology improves with time. There is every possibility of seeing oil extraction from the the deep ocean beds in the future, BUT...

The environmentalists do not want us to burn oil or coal or have nuclear power. Add to that the EU has become obsessed with CO2 caps, so they are effectively shutting down our coal-fired stations. The environmentalists are so extreme that they frankly do not care what happens to industry, jobs, etc., since their aim is the collapse of western economies. No, I'm not being overly dramatic, I sincerely believe that to be true.

Nick  

if it was up to them we would all live in iron age huts and hunt with arrows for our food
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: Martin_1962 on 11 June 2008, 22:05:08
Quote
Quote
Miggy, you're right about the myth of peak oil. As the price goes up, so marginal deposits become economical and, in any event, extraction technology improves with time. There is every possibility of seeing oil extraction from the the deep ocean beds in the future, BUT...

The environmentalists do not want us to burn oil or coal or have nuclear power. Add to that the EU has become obsessed with CO2 caps, so they are effectively shutting down our coal-fired stations. The environmentalists are so extreme that they frankly do not care what happens to industry, jobs, etc., since their aim is the collapse of western economies. No, I'm not being overly dramatic, I sincerely believe that to be true.

Nick  

if it was up to them we would all live in iron age huts and hunt with arrows for our food


I wonder what barbequed environmentalists taste like?
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: Nickbat on 12 June 2008, 00:05:39
Quote
Quote
Quote
Miggy, you're right about the myth of peak oil. As the price goes up, so marginal deposits become economical and, in any event, extraction technology improves with time. There is every possibility of seeing oil extraction from the the deep ocean beds in the future, BUT...

The environmentalists do not want us to burn oil or coal or have nuclear power. Add to that the EU has become obsessed with CO2 caps, so they are effectively shutting down our coal-fired stations. The environmentalists are so extreme that they frankly do not care what happens to industry, jobs, etc., since their aim is the collapse of western economies. No, I'm not being overly dramatic, I sincerely believe that to be true.

Nick  

if it was up to them we would all live in iron age huts and hunt with arrows for our food


I wonder what barbequed environmentalists taste like?


Roasted nuts.  ;) ;D
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: jereboam on 12 June 2008, 00:29:31
Quote
Quote
Quote
Quote
Worrying on the face of it -- but from experience I know not to generally believe what the Daily Mail prints


 :y :y....6 years ago there were reports that we would run out of the worlds resources of oil in 20 years.......pugwash, i work in the oil business and purchase base oils/crude etc from all over the world and we have at least 35 to 40 years left.

That may well be the case, but do we really want to be using oil for electricity generation?  It has many much more valuable uses.  And given the current market shortfall/speculative free-for-all/whatever which is driving prices upwards at an unprecedented rate, how much would we have to pay for electricity from this source?

I was not saying use oil for elec generation, the point was not to belive all you read in the papers.

 :y

I appreciate that you weren't suggesting we burn oil for electricty, but what other sources are there in the medium term?  It will take 20  years to bring nuclear on line, 10 for coal, and we don't have the engineering capacity or mines.  

We've got gas generating capability.  I would assume that this can be converted to burn oil (probably at enormous expense), and that would seem a better option than bulding more wind turbines - they will never be able to provide a reliable base and won't cope with peak loads - you can't crank them up to go faster.

On a slightly different matter, does it seem to anyone else that there is more than a slight streak of Puritanism in the eco-warriors?  "Get thee to a Smart car - you're having far too much fun in that Omega"

Bloody good job we don't have a 21st Century Oliver Cromwell - yet :(
Title: Re: Half our electricity to go in six years?
Post by: Kevin Wood on 12 June 2008, 00:45:36
Quote
On a slightly different matter, does it seem to anyone else that there is more than a slight streak of Puritanism in the eco-warriors?  "Get thee to a Smart car - you're having far too much fun in that Omega"

Nail on the head. It's pure envy politics. BBC interviewed one of them last week and asked what he was doing to save his personal CO2 emissions. The answer was to use low energy light bulbs and unplug his mobile phone charger when not in use. And they didn't challenge him.  :-?

They have so little grasp of reality it'd be funny if they weren't practically ruling our lives.  >:(

Kevin