• UK risks running out of energy generating capacity in winter of 2015-16
    66 replies, posted
[url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19842401[/url] [quote=BBC News][B]Britain risks running out of energy generating capacity in the winter of 2015-16, according to the energy regulator Ofgem.[/B] Its report predicted that the amount of spare capacity could fall from 14% now to only 4% in three years. Ofgem said this would leave Britain relying more on imported gas, which would make price rises more likely. The government said that its forthcoming Energy Bill would ensure that there was secure supply. Ofgem blames the risk on coal-fired power stations being closed sooner than expected and EU environmental legislation. The warnings come in Ofgem's first annual Electricity Capacity Assessment. It comes three years after Ofgem's Project Discovery report, which warned that electricity shortages could lead to steep rises in energy bills. It is now saying the highest risk of shortages would be sooner than expected because coal-fired power stations would be closing sooner than it had predicted in 2009. [B]'Unprecedented challenges'[/B] The regulator said more investment was needed in building fresh generating capacity. "The unprecedented challenges in facing Britain's energy industry… to attract the investment to deliver secure, sustainable and affordable energy supplies for consumers, still remain," said Ofgem chief executive Alistair Buchanan. "Ofgem is working with government on its plans to reform the electricity market to tackle these issues." Energy Secretary Ed Davey said the government would respond to the report before the end of the year. "Security of electricity supply is of critical importance to the health of the economy and the smooth functioning of our daily lives," he said. "That is why the government is reforming the electricity market to deliver secure, clean and affordable electricity." "The unprecedented challenges in facing Britain's energy industry… to attract the investment to deliver secure, sustainable and affordable energy supplies for consumers, still remain," said Ofgem chief executive Alistair Buchanan. "Ofgem is working with government on its plans to reform the electricity market to tackle these issues." Energy Secretary Ed Davey said the government would respond to the report before the end of the year. "Security of electricity supply is of critical importance to the health of the economy and the smooth functioning of our daily lives," he said. "That is why the government is reforming the electricity market to deliver secure, clean and affordable electricity." Energy UK, which represents the energy industry, said Ofgem was right to highlight the challenges it faces in the coming years. "We must secure over £150bn of investment in the UK to replace aging power stations and infrastructure, keep the lights on and meet our carbon targets," said its chief executive Angela Knight. "All while making sure that energy bills are affordable for the millions of homes and businesses that rely on the power supplied by our members." [B]Price worries[/B] The trade union Prospect, whose members include 21,000 professionals working in nuclear decommissioning and energy supply, called for government action to avert power shortages. "This report highlights how imperative it is for the government to act now and introduce electricity market reform that ensures the programme of new nuclear build and other vital energy infrastructure projects, such as carbon capture and storage, are attractive enough to secure the long-term investment they require," said Prospect general secretary designate Mike Clancy. Audrey Gallacher, director of energy at Consumer Focus expressed concern about the dangers of rising prices. "While there is enough generation capacity to mean that widespread power-cuts are still unlikely, narrower margins mean the risks of outages are higher and scarcity of energy could also feed into possible price rises in future," he said. "Consumers need protection from price spikes as well as power cuts."[/quote]
Did someone say nuclear?
I think this is a great wake up call for the country to start rapidly advancing new power technologies and reasonable nuclear power
I don't see the issue, especially with a country such as the UK. People often use Fukishima as an example of why it shouldn't be used however Japan sits on a major fault line, the UK doesn't...
[QUOTE=DELL;37922155]Did someone say nuclear?[/QUOTE] No, we must build more solar power thingies! They'll be good in the winter, right?
Can't wait for this thing. [QUOTE][IMG]http://www.iter.org/img/resize-725-90/www/content/com/Lists/WebsiteText/Attachments/68/bg_tokamak.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE] [B][URL="http://www.iter.org/mach"]ITER[/URL][/B]
[QUOTE=DELL;37922155]Did someone say nuclear?[/QUOTE] We already have a bunch of nuclear power plants though. According to wikipedia nuclear power accounts for ~ one sixth of our total electricity output.
For fuck's sake would we stop worrying about nuclear power already? It's our only reliable choice right now that will provide power when demand is high which the EU won't throw a hissy about.
[QUOTE=Trainbike;37922580]We already have a bunch of nuclear power plants though. According to wikipedia nuclear power accounts for ~ one sixth of our total electricity output.[/QUOTE] Clearly not enough if we're going to be risking brown-outs in a few years.
[QUOTE=The golden;37922445]Many nuclear plants are old enough to be museum pieces. The technology is outdated and the facilities are in dire need of repair or modernization. Technology as advanced quite a bit since those facilities were created. We now have things like CANDU reactors, which have many failsafes and saftey features which make them much safer. A CANDU reactor can safely shutdown in the event of a total power failure.[/QUOTE] Yeah, but from what I've seen people want current plants to be decommissioned and less new ones to be built.
[QUOTE=ben1066;37922699]Yeah, but from what I've seen people want current plants to be decommissioned and less new ones to be built.[/QUOTE] people are dumb
I don't get why people are complaining, the coalition wants to build up to 8 new nuclear plants
The UK has had its fair share of nuclear disasters, like Windscale and Sellafield. Both very old facilities though.
I'm still hoping for hamster wheel farms.
One more reason i want Fusion to become a viable solution sooner..
[QUOTE=Frankiscool!;37923495]One more reason i want Fusion to become a viable solution sooner..[/QUOTE] Unless there is some serious break through I really don't see that happening.
[video=youtube;P9M__yYbsZ40]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9M__yYbsZ40[/video] We need This. Watched the entire thing and been looking into it alot...
[QUOTE=Trainbike;37922580]We already have a bunch of nuclear power plants though. According to wikipedia nuclear power accounts for ~ one sixth of our total electricity output.[/QUOTE] That's good, but not enough. Personally, I think every capable country should be following France's example; nuclear power accounts for approximately 75% of all their energy production. They produce so much that they actually sell it to neighboring countries.
Then make more capacity,there is enough time.
I really hope they build more nuclear reactors, and ignore the stupid anti-nuclear Fukushima bred activists.
Make something rain powered, you Brits would never be powerless again!
London already imports a large portion of it's energy from france in exchange for handling their nuclear waste.
[QUOTE=ScottyWired;37940108]Make something rain powered, you Brits would never be powerless again![/QUOTE] I don't remember which comedian/show it was that did the bit about lightbulbs powered by British moaning "Lightbulbs on the blink again... Oh it's fine now"
It would be very hard to get past the anti-Nuclear activists, they have had an impact on policy making regarding building new nuclear plants. I don't see it going through.
[QUOTE=AWarGuy;37944152]It would be very hard to get past the anti-Nuclear activists, they have had an impact on policy making regarding building new nuclear plants. I don't see it going through.[/QUOTE] Nevermind anti-nuclear you'll get these NIMBY morons that'll start crying at everything from a windfarm to some kind of magical generator that works on bad thoughts and provides more energy than cold fusion would.
The problem with nuclear plants is the fact that when there are bad accidents, there are REALLY FUCKING BAD ACCIDENTS. With Nuclear energy, there's almost no middle ground between a minor incident and radiation all over the countryside. Nuclear energy is efficient, cheaper, and reliable, but no matter how advanced the tech is, there's still the possibility of someone fucking up and blowing up the reactor. It's not even a remotely foolproof technology. Not to mention the cost. Everyone is like, "oh all these plants are old and outdated, let's just rip them down and replace them with new ones." That costs a shitload of money just to tear down and decommision the old ones, and then replacing all of that with new technology? That would cost trillions of dollars to do, you can't "just replace all the old ones". ESPECIALLY not in five years. It would take five years just to secure the FUNDING for a plant, let alone enough to power a country. And before this goes into Fukushima, I am aware the plant was built on a massive fault line. The earthquake wasn't the problem though, the plant was shutting down fine and then a fucking tsunami comes out of nowhere and floods the backup generators. But that doesn't change that if it had been any other kind of power plant, the only major damage would be to the plant and anyone inside, rather than the entire countryside being hit with radiation.
Cold fusion doesn't even work
How about a reactor powered by British wit? Unlimited hilarious energy.
Seems like we need a high-yield power source that is perfectly safe when properly controlled. *buzz* What is atomic power?
Maybe the general public is misinformed about Nuclear energy
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