Are we going to lose power for the people?
I HAVE just watched on the news for the second time an item on the predicted electricity shortages they say will happen by 2020.
This is due to the shutting down of a large number of power stations due to end of their life, carbon emissions and other factors.
The predication continues with the fact that 70 per cent of our power needs will be generated from gas that needs to be imported.
I am neither for nor against the Green Brigade, my main concerns are to do with cost to Joe Public.
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It seems to me that the fat cats see an event coming and hike the prices to justify and fit the circumstances, not a thing to do with value for money but more to do with the lining of their pockets.
If, as predicted, there are to be power shortages and subsequent blackouts with rising costs due to gas having to be bought from abroad, can someone answer these questions:
Why have we waited until a large percentage of our generating industry is beyond repair before doing anything?
How come we seem to jump to it when EU legislation is imposed while other countries seem to take their time if they get round to it at all?
Why are all these wind turbines being built both on and offshore?
Why is the output of all those thousands of turbines only supplying a fraction of our power needs?
Who has paid for all those turbines and what is the total costs including siting? The cost must be fantastic considering that most of the components are imported, including the steel used in their structure.
What is the life expectancy of each turbine?
At the end of the day, how many times do we need to pay for our power?
Ken Staples,
Somerton Road, Immingham.
The Telegraph says
Are we relying too much on energy supplies from abroad, from countries that have been known to hold such supplies hostage in the past? Isn't obtaining energy from a variety of sources, and "home grown" the best option?
2 Comments
by johndavies
Saturday, February 23 2013, 5:25PM
“Answers to Ken Staples questions Part 1 of 2
( "If, as predicted, there are to be power shortages and subsequent blackouts with rising costs due to gas having to be bought from abroad, can someone answer these questions: " )
Having been in the business for more yrs than I can remember, I will do my best.
Q1 ( Why have we waited until a large percentage of our generating industry is beyond repair before doing anything? )
Power engineers have been telling governments for the last 25yrs that steady investment was needed - but were ignored. The general level of ignorance of technical subjects in the political class is appalling, yet they make the decisions that affect us all.
Q2 ( How come we seem to jump to it when EU legislation is imposed while other countries seem to take their time if they get round to it at all? )
Stupidity!!
A large number of perfectly good UK power stations are being closed under a carbon directive that we signed up to, yet Germany are building new coal fired generators without the "mythical" carbon capture being applied.
See - Global Coal Risk Assessment: Data Analysis and Market Research
http://tinyurl.com/cywck3t
Q3 ( Why are all these wind turbines being built both on and offshore? ) 2 reasons
1 – Political
Due to a lack of understanding & some convincing but false figures, a majority of the political class decided that 'Green' was the only way forward & anyone questioning was vilified. ( "Opposition to wind farms should become as socially unacceptable as failing to wear a seatbelt." Ed Miliband).
So politicians chased the intermittent wind & solar green wash.
Our glorious leaders are locked into political ideology so when they eventually discover a previous decision was wrong, they can't admit to it & have to invent ever more bizarre spin to protect the original idea ….however bad it was.
It's the wrong technology for the problem …because it was chosen by uninformed politicians, many of whom are now involved in the financial scam.
2 - Financial
A lot of the political class have strong financial interests in 'Renewables'.
I'll name just a few - David Camerons father in law, Nick Cleggs wife, Lord Deben John Selwyn Gummer, Ed Davey, Chris Huhne, Tim Yeo & a large number of DECC officials are "all in it together" & are making a packet!!!
The big companies have a guaranteed income stream until 2037”
by johndavies
Saturday, February 23 2013, 5:18PM
“Answers to Ken Staples questions Part 2 of 2
Q4 ( Why is the output of all those thousands of turbines only supplying a fraction of our power needs? )
1 - Wind is a Low density energy source.
2 - Intermittency, = the spasmodic energy production you get from sources such as Wind & solar.
As I write this, on a normal cool winter day, 4°C, the UKs entire 4,413 wind turbine fleet is producing-
just … 2% of demand !!!
BUT making loads of cash for developers (mainly foreign), & our electric prices are set to rise again to pay for it all.
So fortunately 74% of our energy is being supplied by coal & gas & 22% by nuclear.
See - http://tinyurl.com/6ja8btf
Because the intermittency of wind brings a huge financial penalty Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Holland, have all cut back on wind installations & are now building new gas & coal stations (worryingly Germany is going for brown coal ).
To look at it another way, even if the fuel was free, would you buy a car that was guaranteed to-
- randomly accelerate or brake without warning
- randomly work for a max 26% of any journey time,
- require a chauffer driven 2nd gas guzzler to follow you & take over when the first one failed.
I doubt it.
Q5 ( Who has paid for all those turbines and what is the total costs including siting? )
WE DO.
It is an unhappy fact that wind farms are almost entirely subsidised by a complex yet hidden regime of feed in tariffs, tax cuts and preferential tax credits …paid for by a levy on all energy bills.
See this List of some (700ish) UK windfarms – includes Generation payments, OFGEM ROC payments + Capacity factors, Outputs, Graphs, Maps. - http://tinyurl.com/akxs7yp )
Q6 ( The cost must be fantastic considering that most of the components are imported, including the steel used in their structure. )
On land wind is approx £ 1,000,000 / MW installed.
Q7 ( What is the life expectancy of each turbine? )
Depending on location, 12 – 20 years
The need for fossil back-up capacity is the real environment-killer for large-scale wind and solar. The vulnerability of these systems to sudden changes in the primary energy source (the wind stops blowing, or it gets cloudy) means you need quick-start capability for fairly hefty amounts of baseload supply.
That means gas turbines.
Reliance on wind power builds in a structural requirement to burn more natural gas.
The gas we must have for backup generation comes from the Middle East, Nigeria, Norway & Russia,
I don't call that 'Energy Security'.”