General News Thread

[foxes1988]

2 minutes ago, danny. said:

Even more insane, then, that the price of electricity remains tied to the price of gas, and we have the most expensive electricity costs in the world.

It's interesting that interconnectors tend to provide more generation then Gas throughout lots of the day too shows buying from Norway France Denmark is cheaper then Gas generation. 

 

So frustrating that we didn't build just a few Nuclear power plants in the 90s 00s and early 10s.  Our wholesale costs would be tiny right now if had.

[danny.]

5 minutes ago, foxes1988 said:

It's interesting that interconnectors tend to provide more generation then Gas throughout lots of the day too shows buying from Norway France Denmark is cheaper then Gas generation. 

 

So frustrating that we didn't build just a few Nuclear power plants in the 90s 00s and early 10s.  Our wholesale costs would be tiny right now if had.

The marginal pricing system becomes more and more ridiculous too, the less we rely on gas. I can't understand why this isn't a priority to reform.

[Zear0]

27 minutes ago, danny. said:

The marginal pricing system becomes more and more ridiculous too, the less we rely on gas. I can't understand why this isn't a priority to reform.

Nice incentive for non-gas utilities.  Obviously crap for the consumer!

[kenny]

1 hour ago, danny. said:

The marginal pricing system becomes more and more ridiculous too, the less we rely on gas. I can't understand why this isn't a priority to reform.

Apparently it's because we need the gas power plants on standby because the renewables are unreliable. So in effect we have to pay for them today even though they aren't in use.

 

It's also the reason China is building coal plants alongside renewables.

[leicsmac]

7 minutes ago, kenny said:

Apparently it's because we need the gas power plants on standby because the renewables are unreliable. So in effect we have to pay for them today even though they aren't in use.

 

It's also the reason China is building coal plants alongside renewables.

And also because the people working on the transition know something that appears to be lost on a few people who can't see the wood for the trees; if such systems aren't put in place to make that transition smoother, all of us will end up in a world where money means nothing at all. 

[Free Falling Foxes]

I'm all for renewable energy - 100% 

I can see the argument too, that it provides greater energy security.

Such sites wouldn't be immune in times of conflict of course. Wind farms, solar farms and so on would, no doubt, be targeted and/or subject to sabotage. 

[leicsmac]

8 minutes ago, Free Falling Foxes said:

I'm all for renewable energy - 100% 

I can see the argument too, that it provides greater energy security.

Such sites wouldn't be immune in times of conflict of course. Wind farms, solar farms and so on would, no doubt, be targeted and/or subject to sabotage. 

They would, as would any nonrenewable energy infrastructure. 

 

Fission plants would be the real wildcard on that one. It seems - mostly, and thankfully - that is a line even the most awful warmongers won't cross at the present time. 

[WigstonWanderer]

3 hours ago, foxes1988 said:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/13/nuclear-power-generation-uk-deregulation-plans-ed-miliband?CMP=share_btn_url

 

I was worried they weren't going to move forward with the report recommendations so I'm glad to see this.

 

 

Solar generating more then Gas and Nuclear combined at the minute.

Considering that the cost and schedule overruns building Hinkley B are cited here in Australia as a good reason NOT to build nuclear, I’d be surprised if nuclear reactors were going to help much for the foreseeable future. I guess solar isn’t any where near as good an alternative in the UK as it is here in Australia, and something is needed. Also I suppose the regulation changes might address these issues to some extent.

 

As well as the cost (not sure if quoted costs include decommissioning) and time it takes to build one, they are also rather inflexible as they are “always on”, when modern systems tend to require a fast response response to demand to be most useful.

 

Perhaps SMRs will be more cost effective eventually when they are built in numbers in factories, thus gaining economies of scale and presumably faster deployment. The problem is they are still at an early stage of proving their worth and no such factory currently exists as far as I know. Probably be the Chinese who will make them viable (as usual).

[WigstonWanderer]

2 hours ago, kenny said:

Apparently it's because we need the gas power plants on standby because the renewables are unreliable. So in effect we have to pay for them today even though they aren't in use.

 

It's also the reason China is building coal plants alongside renewables.

I can’t understand why the gas peaker plants aren’t nationalised and the actual running costs simply charged back to the rest of the generation industry in some way according to their dependence on gas plants to fill in. I know it’s a complex business, and there might be good reasons, but there has to be a better way than the current pricing structure. Here in Australia too.

[kenny]

38 minutes ago, WigstonWanderer said:

I can’t understand why the gas peaker plants aren’t nationalised and the actual running costs simply charged back to the rest of the generation industry in some way according to their dependence on gas plants to fill in. I know it’s a complex business, and there might be good reasons, but there has to be a better way than the current pricing structure. Here in Australia too.

I was going to post about the proposed cable to Morocco as they have similar weather to Australia that allows 22 hours a day of renewable generation.

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn8659z0p0do

 

Turns out it's another infrastructure project canned by the current incombants.

 

[leicsmac]

52 minutes ago, WigstonWanderer said:

I can’t understand why the gas peaker plants aren’t nationalised and the actual running costs simply charged back to the rest of the generation industry in some way according to their dependence on gas plants to fill in. I know it’s a complex business, and there might be good reasons, but there has to be a better way than the current pricing structure. Here in Australia too.

Considering how simple both the problem (it's a very straight "if/then" logic gate) and the solution are (and how consequential), you do wonder why it is all so complex.

Edited 13 March by leicsmac

[WigstonWanderer]

57 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

Considering how simple both the problem (it's a very straight "if/then" logic gate) and the solution are (and how consequential), you do wonder why it is all so complex.

I think the problem is caused by trying to ensure sufficient gas backup capacity during periods of low renewables supply using private ownership which requires incentive. Hence why I suggested that nationalisation might provide an alternative.

[leicsmac]

6 minutes ago, WigstonWanderer said:

I think the problem is caused by trying to ensure sufficient gas backup capacity during periods of low renewables supply using private ownership which requires incentive. Hence why I suggested that nationalisation might provide an alternative.

Right, and that's one part of the solution. 

 

Personally, I was thinking very big, very simple picture, viz. "Transition away from carbon emissions as a species as soon as possible or changes will happen at a vast financial and blood cost that will mean vastly more human war and death at best, and the end of human civilisation as we know it at worst".

 

There's still far too many people who can influence policy who either don't accept this very simple, inevitable causality, or do accept it and don't care due to self interest. Both sentiments require neutralisation. 

Edited 13 March by leicsmac

[filthyfox]

I really am starting to wonder exactly WHAT the UK is good at any more.

 

Our Navy is an absolute disgrace.

HMS Dragon should have left Port the DAY of the drone attacks.

 

Its as shocking as Leicester implosion under Top

[Foxdiamond]

1 minute ago, filthyfox said:

I really am starting to wonder exactly WHAT the UK is good at any more.

 

Our Navy is an absolute disgrace.

HMS Dragon should have left Port the DAY of the drone attacks.

 

Its as shocking as Leicester implosion under Top

Years of government cuts

[Sampson]

5 minutes ago, Foxdiamond said:

Years of government cuts

And leaving the biggest trading block in the world. 
 

What do people expect? People voted to cut back all our public spending and to leave ourselves economically isolated from our own continent and all our neighbours. Why are we surprised we haven’t got a pot to piss in and our country has fallen on the world stage? You get what you vote for. 

[kenny]

6 minutes ago, Foxdiamond said:

Years of government cuts

It is.

 

But also, if we doubled the military budget would it be twice as effective? Probably not, we probably wouldn't get much more than we have now, we have a real issue with how we spend money.

[JonnyBoy]

10 minutes ago, filthyfox said:

I really am starting to wonder exactly WHAT the UK is good at any more.

 

Our Navy is an absolute disgrace.

HMS Dragon should have left Port the DAY of the drone attacks.

 

Its as shocking as Leicester implosion under Top

HMS Piss the league 

[DJW1]

20 hours ago, st albans fox said:

Those that did a history gcse or o level 

so not many 

 

If we’re going to go down the rabbit hole of British personnel  killed across colonies around the world then I suspect that the British will win. 

What has changed in the last 50 years is the attitude of the far right in the UK. In the 1970s the NF actually supported the PLO in their struggle against Israel. Now the far right dislikes Muslims more than Jews.

[Salisbury Fox]

4 minutes ago, kenny said:

It is.

 

But also, if we doubled the military budget would it be twice as effective? Probably not, we probably wouldn't get much more than we have now, we have a real issue with how we spend money.

Agreed, I believe that you could say that about the NHS too

[filthyfox]

NOTHING about cuts. ALL about the snowflake generation.

The Captain of HMS Dragon would probably be 35 years old.

SNOWFLAKE

 

****ING GET INTO THE WARZONE AND DO YOUR ****ING JOB.

 

Oh...  but its NOT a war zone....   its CYPRUS

 

Bloody JOKE of a Navy.

 

Lets just let the Argies invade the Falklands again, and we will see if we can get there in 4 days.

[kenny]

8 minutes ago, Salisbury Fox said:

Agreed, I believe that you could say that about the NHS too

I do.

[Trav Le Bleu]

33 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

Right, and that's one part of the solution. 

 

Personally, I was thinking very big, very simple picture, viz. "Transition away from carbon emissions as a species as soon as possible or changes will happen at a vast financial and blood cost that will mean vastly more human war and death at best, and the end of human civilisation as we know it at worst".

 

There's still far too many people who can influence policy who either don't accept this very simple, inevitable causality, or do accept it and don't care due to self interest. Both sentiments require neutralisation. 

The answer is simple, just two words.

 

Russian oil.

 

Don knows.

[leicsmac]

4 minutes ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

The answer is simple, just two words.

 

Russian oil.

 

Don knows.

And the largest part of the problem is too many people believe this unironically. 

[st albans fox]

2 hours ago, DJW1 said:

What has changed in the last 50 years is the attitude of the far right in the UK. In the 1970s the NF actually supported the PLO in their struggle against Israel. Now the far right dislikes Muslims more than Jews.

I think that there are members of the far right who are very stressed about their innate hatred of Jews and the 21st century expectations of them not to. (Whilst there are Muslims to hate first). 

Edited 13 March by st albans fox