Spectator N0 2651 By Fieldfare
Crosswords2 mins ago
Wind Generated A Record Amount Of Electricity In 2022
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yet 40 percent came from fossil fuels and all those electric cars running around claiming to be green when they clearly are not. The way forward is hydrocarbon fuels synthesised from CO2 in the air and it's not a pipeline dream, the first seriously commercial project is being built in Chile and due to open this year....
Placing a barrage too close to an estuary affects migratory fish like salmon and eels, putting it further out might be safer but increase infrastructure costs, one place that has a massive tidal flow is the Menai straits. Might well be enough to supply a large chunk of North wales. Also existing reservoirs could have hydroelectric systems retrofitted to existing outflows. One argument that may have to be ignored is the loss of "natural beauty'. Most methods of generating electricity are ugly, but it shouldn't be beyond us to find ways to minimise the impact.
//I checked yesterday evening and at the time wind was generating 62% of our usage.//
And today it is down to around 40%. Last Saturday and Monday it was between 10% and 15%.
//Complaining about the footprint in the manufacture of a wind turbine is hilarious when you compare it with a nuclear power plant or even a gas fired power station.//
I don’t think youngmaf is complaining. He’s simply pointing out that wind is not as “green” as some would have you believe. If, like me, he accepts that mankind makes a mess whatever it does to support its lifestyle, then it really doesn’t matter where, when and how the mess is made.
//Go on then YMB, tell us what the answer is.//
The answer, unfortunately, has been largely destroyed. That rested on the numerous coal-fired power stations which have been decommissioned and demolished. All the UK can now do when output from wind varies (which it does – considerably) is to fire up gas powered plants. These are heavily dependent on imported gas, much of it from not very reliable sources and much of it liquified (a heavily energy dependent process) and transported thousands of miles by diesel powered ships.. At the moment some 16% of electricity is provided by European producers and transported via interconnectors to the UK. Again, this is unreliable and if a cold spell hits the continent that supply may be jeopardised.
Those arguing that coal should not be used in the UK need to think on. The argument that “we must set a good example” is without foundation. We’ve been setting a good example for many years and all it has done is to jeopardise – critically I would argue – the UK’s energy security. China currently burns more coal than the rest of the world combined. India and the USA burn about half of what is left. None of these show any signs of reducing their consumption significantly. Australia consumes more coal per head than any other nation – 60% more than China. Germany is by far and away Europe’s biggest consumer of coal. That country, along with Greece, the Czech Republic and Poland all consume more coal per head of the population than China does. All of these countries – and more besides – have placed their nation’s energy security ahead of environmental virtue signalling. For, quite frankly, that is what the UK’s “climate change” policies amount to. This country could reduce all its emissions to zero tomorrow and it would make not the slightest difference to climate change, nor would our example make the slightest difference to the energy policies of any other countries.
Successive UK governments have placed the country’s energy security in great jeopardy by farting about covering the land and much of its offshore with just about the most expensive, inefficient and unreliable method of producing electricity that there is. It’s done it just to show the world how caring we are. Well, the rest of the world doesn’t care to wallow in our virtue and the only ones to suffer from this folly are UK energy consumers.
And don’t even think of starting me off by mentioning Drax power station.
And today it is down to around 40%. Last Saturday and Monday it was between 10% and 15%.
//Complaining about the footprint in the manufacture of a wind turbine is hilarious when you compare it with a nuclear power plant or even a gas fired power station.//
I don’t think youngmaf is complaining. He’s simply pointing out that wind is not as “green” as some would have you believe. If, like me, he accepts that mankind makes a mess whatever it does to support its lifestyle, then it really doesn’t matter where, when and how the mess is made.
//Go on then YMB, tell us what the answer is.//
The answer, unfortunately, has been largely destroyed. That rested on the numerous coal-fired power stations which have been decommissioned and demolished. All the UK can now do when output from wind varies (which it does – considerably) is to fire up gas powered plants. These are heavily dependent on imported gas, much of it from not very reliable sources and much of it liquified (a heavily energy dependent process) and transported thousands of miles by diesel powered ships.. At the moment some 16% of electricity is provided by European producers and transported via interconnectors to the UK. Again, this is unreliable and if a cold spell hits the continent that supply may be jeopardised.
Those arguing that coal should not be used in the UK need to think on. The argument that “we must set a good example” is without foundation. We’ve been setting a good example for many years and all it has done is to jeopardise – critically I would argue – the UK’s energy security. China currently burns more coal than the rest of the world combined. India and the USA burn about half of what is left. None of these show any signs of reducing their consumption significantly. Australia consumes more coal per head than any other nation – 60% more than China. Germany is by far and away Europe’s biggest consumer of coal. That country, along with Greece, the Czech Republic and Poland all consume more coal per head of the population than China does. All of these countries – and more besides – have placed their nation’s energy security ahead of environmental virtue signalling. For, quite frankly, that is what the UK’s “climate change” policies amount to. This country could reduce all its emissions to zero tomorrow and it would make not the slightest difference to climate change, nor would our example make the slightest difference to the energy policies of any other countries.
Successive UK governments have placed the country’s energy security in great jeopardy by farting about covering the land and much of its offshore with just about the most expensive, inefficient and unreliable method of producing electricity that there is. It’s done it just to show the world how caring we are. Well, the rest of the world doesn’t care to wallow in our virtue and the only ones to suffer from this folly are UK energy consumers.
And don’t even think of starting me off by mentioning Drax power station.
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