Prices of the electricity we use to charge

[guerney]

Is "Naming and shaming" a crackdown, Schapps?

Crackdown on energy firms over rise in prepayment meters

Crackdown on energy firms over rise in prepayment meters

Suppliers not doing enough for vulnerable customers will be named and shamed, the government says.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[MikelBikel]

Sharp humour about power choices after Fukushima. Geothermal baseload?

 

[Charliefox]

Can anyone forsee a REDUCTION in our energy bills in the future as new wind, solar and atomic energy come onstream.
If this present crisis is largly the result of the Ukrainian war, then would an end to it reverse the situation?
Where is global warming when you need it? Not in the Highlsnds for sure!"

 

[Nealh]

More UK instabilitly could be on the way as Shell ponder on withdrawing from UK & EU retail sector according to a Reuters.


LONDON (Reuters) - Shell has launched a strategic review of its home energy retail businesses in Britain, the Netherlands and Germany in the wake of "tough market conditions", it said on Thursday.

European energy suppliers have struggled over the past year with soaring wholesale prices and efforts by governments to shield consumers from rising bills.

No decision has been taken yet on the future of the businesses, Shell said.

Shell injected nearly $1.5 billion in cash and credit into its British energy retail business in 2022 to help it weather huge volatility in power prices that caused the collapse of several rival UK utilities.

Shell said its wholesale and business-to-business (B2B) energy supply businesses are not part of the strategic review, and neither are its home energy supply businesses in the United States and Australia.

 

[flecc]

Can anyone forsee a REDUCTION in our energy bills in the future as new wind, solar and atomic energy come onstream.
If this present crisis is largly the result of the Ukrainian war, then would an end to it reverse the situation?

No, for these reasons:

And end to the war still leaves the western world unable to trade with Putin while he is in office, so the gas and oil shortage continues.

Because we are part of a Europe wide electricity grid sharing scheme, we also operate to pan European prices.

To get Hinckley Point built we had to agree to very high prices per mW once it is built, leaving no room for price cutting. No doubt the new Sizewell C will have a similar price agreement to get it built.

We need vastly more base load capacity to get out of this situation by leaving the European grid and going it alone, something like three more nuclear stations after Hinckley Point and Sizewell C. That isn't going to happen anytime soon for financial and build capacity reasons.
.

 

[Benjahmin]

Also no because, as I understand it, the system for pricing electricity in this country is based on the price of the most expensive fuel.
As gas is part of our generation fuel, and will continue to be so for years, it's likely to be this price that sets our electricity price, even if the percentage used for generation decreases.
Uranium prices are currently on the rise as world demand increases. ( How nuclear power can be styled as 'clean energy' is beyond me. Suppose it is if you totally ignore the thousand years or so half life of of the waste. But then we've got a planet and enviroment so we can just dump it out of site and hope for the best. Oh wait, isn't it that kind of mentality that got us in the poop in the first place?)
Add to this the continued currency debasement through government printing and deficit spending and inflation is baked into the pie.
So all the claims for decreasing leccy prices due to increased renewables is bull.

 

[flecc]

How nuclear power can be styled as 'clean energy' is beyond me. Suppose it is if you totally ignore the thousand years or so half life of of the waste.

Two reasons it is ultimately clean:

Carbon is the main problem causing global warming and nuclear power isn't a CO2 generator.

Most of the nuclear waste from ALL stages (mining to consuming in conventional reactors) is depleted uranium which is also a fuel if used in fast breeder reactors. We already have good working fast breeders** but don't do that at present since it is more expensive, but we will when uranium runs out and if we haven't succeeded with fusion. So then almost all of that waste will become a very precious fuel.

** French Phoenix and Superphoenix, Russian BN300 and BN 800. The USA had already nominated the BN800 as their chosen fast breeder design if that day arrives, though they have produced their own design since, the travelling wave reactor (TWR).

We also produced two, at Winfrith Heath and Dounreay, but made a terrible mess of it with the Dounreay pollution and resulting clean up still present. So hopefully we'll buy French again as we do at present if that day arrives
.

 

[PC2017]

Where is global warming when you need it? Not in the Highlsnds for sure!"

I think, however I am no climate scientist, but warming on one side of the planet could cause global cooling on the other side.

How nuclear power can be styled as 'clean energy' is beyond me

It also facilitates the system to abstract more money out of it, if it is deemed "clean". As far as the capitalist is concerned if it is not end point profitable then what would be the reward. As for the future fusion etc, the research may be profitable but I doubt the end result will be, however I base that on a hunch without any research of my own. Mr Gates is dabbling in Nuclear as we speak from what I can gather the whole Russian situation is getting in his way.

 

[Benjahmin]

Carbon is the main problem causing global warming and nuclear power isn't a CO2 generator.

Well yes, if we ignore the massive amounts of carbon up front in all the concrete used. Then theres the complexity of control systems needed to make them safe with all the fail safe backups because any failure is so potentially catastrophic. After all this there's the end of life de-commissioning that no one seems to know the timetable and end costs of yet, leaving us with yet more polluted realestate beyond use for hundreds of years, if not more.
But, true, no carbon at point of generation.
Sorry, even against all the 'evidence' I just can't see it being a viable, affordable, sustainable, or ultimately sensible method of power generation.
It would appear that the only real solution to carbon production is for us all (developed world) to cut our power requirements by 50%. Mmmmm !

 

[flecc]

Well yes, if we ignore the massive amounts of carbon up front in all the concrete used. Then theres the complexity of control systems needed to make them safe with all the fail safe backups because any failure is so potentially catastrophic. After all this there's the end of life de-commissioning that no one seems to know the timetable and end costs of yet, leaving us with yet more polluted realestate beyond use for hundreds of years, if not more.
But, true, no carbon at point of generation.

I hate to think how much concrete and steel is used to build the vast number of wind turbines to get the output of a major nuclear station. And the complexity of their control mechanisms across the over 11,000 of them will easily exceed those of our 6 nuclear power stations.

All our attempts at generation result in huge land use and pollution problems.

None of these symptoms is a problem, the only problem is the real cause, 8 billion people where there were 2 billion when I was born. Four times the number on a planet that doesn't grow, instead having rapidly shrinking resources.

Until we have the guts to face that root cause, all our efforts are in vain.
.

 

[Croxden]

I hate to think how much concrete and steel is used to build the vast number of wind turbines to get the output of a major nuclear station. And the complexity of their control mechanisms across the over 11,000 of them will easily exceed those of our 6 nuclear power stations.

All our attempts at generation result in huge land use and pollution problems.

None of these symptoms is a problem, the only problem is the real cause, 8 billion people where there were 2 billion when I was born. Four times the number on a planet that doesn't grow, instead having rapidly shrinking resources.

Until we have the guts to face that root cause, all our efforts are in vain.
.

The Sci-Fi film & TV series 'Logan's Run' had the answer.

 

[flecc]

The Sci-Fi film & TV series 'Logan's Run' had the answer.

Any successful answer to limit the population at a defined level will be very unpleasant since it will be one of two possible solutions:

Compulsory and unavoidable birth control.

Or

A defined upper age limit for termination.

Unless nature gets better at producing truly effective pandemics.
.

 

[matthewslack]

I think, however I am no climate scientist, but warming on one side of the planet could cause global cooling on the other side.

Sadly not!

The 'big picture' explanation of global warming/heating/climate change is actually extremely simple.

More energy is arriving from space i.e. from our sun than is leaving, and the difference is staying here. That accumulation of energy is stored as heat, and so the average temperature of everything that constitutes 'Earth' is rising. That includes land, sea and atmosphere. The vast majority of the excess heat is ending up in the oceans - about 93%.

The 'change' part of it is the changed effectiveness of the atmosphere acting as a heat retaining blanket due to the accumulation of greenhouse gases.

Like putting another layer of clothes on. Heat can't escape so fast, so you warm up.

All the weather phenomena we are increasingly seeing is down to more energy in the warmer seas putting more energy into the atmosphere, and then just physics!

 

[MikelBikel]

More UK instabilitly could be on the way as Shell ponder on withdrawing from UK & EU retail sector according to a Reuters.


LONDON (Reuters) - Shell has launched a strategic review of its home energy retail businesses in Britain, the Netherlands and Germany in the wake of "tough market conditions", it said on Thursday.

European energy suppliers have struggled over the past year with soaring wholesale prices and efforts by governments to shield consumers from rising bills.

No decision has been taken yet on the future of the businesses, Shell said.

Shell injected nearly $1.5 billion in cash and credit into its British energy retail business in 2022 to help it weather huge volatility in power prices that caused the collapse of several rival UK utilities.

Shell said its wholesale and business-to-business (B2B) energy supply businesses are not part of the strategic review, and neither are its home energy supply businesses in the United States and Australia.

If other energy companies are tripling their profits then maybe trying to play both sides of the market is catching up with Royal Dutch Shell (RDS the 'shell' company)?
"Welcome to Shell Energy We supply 100% renewable electricity, as well as gas, smart home technology and broadband"

 

[MikelBikel]

Coal anyone? Greta swears by it!

 

[MikelBikel]

"I just got carried away" said Greta! And rumours of new boyfriends are premature. (Nice clean boots despite the mud, mm)

 

[soundwave]

 

[MikelBikel]

Centralia Mine Fire: Underground Coal Fire Has Been Burning for Over 50 Years

The Centralia fire is a coal mine fire that has been burning in Pennsylvania since 1962. Learn the story of the fire, what caused it, and environmental concerns.

www.treehugger.com

"Burning for over 50yrs.. and.. may burn for thousands more".
Q. If co2 is really such an existential threat, why don't they put out these fires?
A: They don't really care, it's all a distraction.

(Sorry previous pics displayed so small, hehe. They're OK on phone, but tiny on a tablet for some reason. Are they ok on PC?)

 

[flecc]

(Sorry previous pics displayed so small, hehe. They're OK on phone, but tiny on a tablet for some reason. Are they ok on PC?)

The Greta and Shell ones were tiny, like 211 x 110 pixels, but Balkan News one ok full size on PC.

As for the underground fires, too expensive to put out, many in the USA, India and Australia alone, and a fair bet more in the other coal rich countries like South America, China and the former Soviets.
.

 

[MikelBikel]

Greta Thunberg 'Arrested' in Germany

Everything you see on TV is a lie.

odysee.com

Here's a clearer video of Greta stopping smiling and laughing with the cops, got serious for take 2, lights, camera, action!