Aberthaw Power Station and Decarbonisation

[whole diary]

[Bmblbzzz]

Then there's the plan to build a nuclear fusion plant at Aberthaw ...

In about thirty years when the technology has been perfected.

...but needs only 15 years to become commercially feasible...

[TonyK]

I remain opposed to chinese built or financed nuclear reactors on both quality control and national security grounds.

I would be more relaxed about an American design. Provided that it can be delivered on time and within budget. In practice I am rather doubtful about any new nukes getting beyond studies, reviews, consultations, and planning appeals and counter appeals. And any change of government deciding that the previous lot did not do the above correctly and that the process needs to be done again.

I am not sure I would have any greater confidence in Westinghouse than I would in far East in-house. I do have faith in our own nuclear watchdog to scrutinise the building with a most intensive scrute, though. The first real attempt at building a Westinghouse AP1000 went rather badly, and took Westinghouse to the edge of bankruptcy. Not much of that was to do with the actual building of the reactor, though. The idea was to do it Ikea style - built in bits in factories for assembly on-site. It could well offer a new standard, but things move quickly in nuclear power station design. There is one already running in China. Remember, though, that this is the design which Toshiba was going to use at Sellafield, and which came to naught. Finance could kill this idea.

Then there's the plan to build a nuclear fusion plant at Aberthaw ...

In about thirty years when the technology has been perfected.

...but needs only 15 years to become commercially feasible...

It has been only 5 years away since I first saw it mentioned by Raymond Baxter on Tomorrows World, in 1965.

[broadgage]

Here is a good example of indulgences being sold.
Customers believe that that they are buying green electricity, when in fact much of it is produced by burning fossil fuels.
But with the purchase of indulgences carbon offsets or credits.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56602674

Somebody at the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) has been reading my posts here and elsewhere over the past few years. 

Some interesting reading between the lines here. The few companies who actually generate the renewable energy they sell are allowed to charge their customers more for the privilege of being holy. It follows therefore that renewable energy is more expensive to generate than other forms, which goes against what the green lobby keep telling us, unless the idea is to enrich the owner of the company to a greater degree than the hated fat cats at the big multinationals as a reward. I don't think that can be the case, as the most famous such owner only owns one football team, and his castle isn't particularly huge. Being able to sell the product twice must help, although I still don't know where the energy comes from on our many windless days and nights.

What would happen if everyone in the country signed up to a green tariff? Would the energy companies say sorry, no, we've run out of stiffcuts? My guess is that they would scour the earth for more REGOs^▸ (Renewable Energy Guarantee of Origin), so pushing the price up to a point where it might cost as much as £2 per year per household to greenwash the tariff and put a picture of a wind turbine on the bill, all the while making electricity from rendered dolphin carcasses.

What would happen if nobody bought into the lie? Would the windmills and solar panels all disappear? Of course not. Energy companies would just have to find new ways to fleece their customers, and employ more PR^▸ (Public Relations) people to spread the myth of how green are their hillsides. You can see that the spin doctors are hard at work already:

Its chief executive, Emma Pinchbeck, says: "All renewable tariffs, including those with REGOs, are supporting renewables in some way. Over a third of our power now comes from renewables.

A third of our electricity might come from renewables, if you include the scandalous output of Drax's alleged biomass, but that still equates to well under 10% of our energy use. That hasn't stopped talk of using excess renewable energy (there isn't any) to make hydrogen and charge batteries to see us through the doldrums and the nights. Buying pieces of paper isn't going to square this circle.

I love the idea of "indulgences", broadgage! I shall steal it immediately.

The market in indulgences has all gone orribly wrong! As my neighbour said, why is electricity on my "green tariff" going up ?
They claim 100% renewable generated power, so what has the rising gas price got to do with it. Wind is still the same price.

[stuving]

They claim 100% renewable generated power, so what has the rising gas price got to do with it. Wind is still the same price.

Are you sure? Apparently there has been less wind and so less wind power this summer than was planned for. As the capital costs of the wind generators and ancillaries are the same, doesn't the unit price go up?

[broadgage]

Yes, I suppose that it does, but plenty of wind now. So presumably green suppliers can cut prices ?

[TonyK]

The market in indulgences has all gone orribly wrong! As my neighbour said, why is electricity on my "green tariff" going up ?
They claim 100% renewable generated power, so what has the rising gas price got to do with it. Wind is still the same price.

Yes, this current pickle does seem to have rather let the cat out of the bag. It all goes in the mix, however the electricity is generated. Even the few companies actually producing the stuff they sell to their customers have to buy electricity made from gas, nuclear or coal when the wind drops, and they have to pay the same wholesale price as everybody else. The Emperor's new clothes aren't what he told us they were, and we can see his winkie.

My own esteemed supplier buys the output of my solar panel for about 5p per KWh, then sells it back to me for 16.6p per KWh, although in fairness, I have already used it before they buy it from me. It is all very laudable, and ticks lots of boxes, but you don't need to be a Diane Abbott to see the flaws in the environmental benefit workings out.

[stuving]

Then there's the plan to build a nuclear fusion plant at Aberthaw ...

In about thirty years when the technology has been perfected.

...but needs only 15 years to become commercially feasible...

I'm sure everyone will be pleased that as of today the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) government has a fusion* strategy (in a suitably green paper). It includes - pretty much starts with - STEP (Spherical Tokomak for Energy Production), for which Aberthaw, among other old power station sites, was nominated. Mind you, its declared timescale is "by 2040", so breathing is not optional.

But at least this time they can't be accused of short-termism. On the other hand it is a bit .. well, Boric. A sample:

This paper sets out the UK Government’s strategy to move from a fusion science superpower to a fusion industry superpower. With this plan, the UK hopes to lead the world on the commercialisation and deployment of this potentially world-changing technology.

*The word "nuclear" should be inserted, lest anyone get the idea that the UK government plans to fuse with anyone or anything.

[broadgage]

The word "nuclear" is to be avoided as the public link it with nuclear weapons, Chernobyl, cost overruns, delays, Fukushima, And with "rays and things that harm children"

Fusion by contrast sounds like a good word without any of the above bad connotations.

[TonyK]

The word "nuclear" is to be avoided as the public link it with ... And with "rays and things that harm children"

Like they did at some point in the early years of the century, when a mobile phone mast was due to be erected on the A38 Gloucester Road in Bristol. I went to the meeting, and listened to the forecasts of deaths of children on a scale not seen since the days of King Herod*. There was another a few years later, which I didn't go to, to complain about the lack of signal outside a nearby junior school.

* Son of Antipater the Idumaean**, One of the bad guys in the New Testament, unless you are Roman.
** I don't know either.

[ellendune]

* Son of Antipater the Idumaean**, One of the bad guys in the New Testament, unless you are Roman.
** I don't know either.

Idumean - from Edom.  The suggestion was that he wasn't a proper Jew which didn't go down well with the religious rulers of that time.  Though those who made a fuss about it usually didn't live very long. 

[Bmblbzzz]

Going back to hydropower for a minute, this bloke reckons his domestic, homemade turbine provides enough electricity to serve an average three-bed house in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), but only for seven months of the year. Luckily though, those are the months when the sun doesn't shine so much, so there's a balance. He does have have enough land to provide an 18m fall from intake to turbine though...

https://youtu.be/lSt96KFFHxA

Tom and Barbara eat your heart out!

[TonyK]

Are you sure? Apparently there has been less wind and so less wind power this summer than was planned for. As the capital costs of the wind generators and ancillaries are the same, doesn't the unit price go up?

One of the leading European experts on wind power and subsidies said he is sure that wind will be back to full strength soon, although he didn't show his working-out. So that's all right, then.

* Son of Antipater the Idumaean**, One of the bad guys in the New Testament, unless you are Roman.
** I don't know either.

Idumean - from Edom.  The suggestion was that he wasn't a proper Jew which didn't go down well with the religious rulers of that time.  Though those who made a fuss about it usually didn't live very long. 

I am indebted, yet again. I think my education is now complete.

[broadgage]

A great deal of UK^▸ (United Kingdom) electricity was produced from wind power in February, possibly a new record.
A good thing if looking at the current natural gas price and considering possible supply shortages.
Hopefully more wind turbines will be erected and more PV modules installed. We are some way away from ceasing use of natural gas, but should be seeking to reduce gas use for both environmental reasons and due to concerns about reliance on foreign powers for supplies.

[broadgage]

On another forum it is reported, that UK^▸ (United Kingdom) electricity from wind during December was 7.6 twh, not only a new record but substantially in excess of the previous record of 5.5 twh. And that in the shortest month of the year.

And that electricity from wind was nearly as great as that from natural gas.

BTW^▸ (by the way), UK natural gas prices have just just reached 600 pence a therm. A truly shocking figure, even to me.

[TonyK]

On another forum it is reported, that UK^▸ (United Kingdom) electricity from wind during December was 7.6 twh, not only a new record but substantially in excess of the previous record of 5.5 twh. And that in the shortest month of the year.

And that electricity from wind was nearly as great as that from natural gas.

BTW^▸ (by the way), UK natural gas prices have just just reached 600 pence a therm. A truly shocking figure, even to me.

That could explain why we are using coal again, according to Gridwatch:



Someone check my sums again, but if we assume installed capacity for wind of 22 GW^▸ (Great Western) (I read that somewhere) then the efficiency is about 46%, in a month when I had to rescue the gas barbecue from a neighbouring field?