Electricity generation. The pros and the cons.

[John Ratsey]

There should also be potential to use waste heat from small nuclear reactors to keep some houses warm in winter provided they aren't too far away.

Gridwatch https://gridwatch.co.uk/Demand suggests that the French haven't had much spare electricity during the past few weekdays. It's not clear if that's a problem with generation or maybe other countries are out-bidding the UK.

[culzean]

There should also be potential to use waste heat from small nuclear reactors to keep some houses warm in winter provided they aren't too far away.

Gridwatch https://gridwatch.co.uk/Demand suggests that the French haven't had much spare electricity during the past few weekdays. It's not clear if that's a problem with generation or maybe other countries are out-bidding the UK.

One of the pair of cables from France was damaged or blew up very recently - so that halved the amount of power UK could siphon off from French nuclear.  Also macron has adopted a fish for electricity scheme,  and is also sending migrants in lieu of volts and amps.

[JimSh]

COP26 Roundup
https://ukcop26.org/news/

https://www.channel4.com/news/cop26-groundbreaking-climate-deal-within-reach-after-marathon-talks

https://www.channel4.com/news/cop26-has-failed-says-climate-scientist-prof-saleemul-huq

Edit added channel 4 news items

https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/cop26-climate-pact-reaction-sharma-b1957240.html

Edit added independent summary

[JimSh]

One of the pair of cables from France was damaged or blew up very recently - so that halved the amount of power UK could siphon off from French nuclear.  Also macron has adopted a fish for electricity scheme,  and is also sending migrants in lieu of volts and amps.

Again ?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-58570893
"The company - which owns energy infrastructure like overhead and underground power cables - said there would be a reduction in the amount of electricity available to the network until 13 October following the fire."

[ColinB]

One of the pair of cables from France was damaged or blew up very recently - so that halved the amount of power UK could siphon off from French nuclear.  Also macron has adopted a fish for electricity scheme,  and is also sending migrants in lieu of volts and amps.

Again ?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-58570893
"The company - which owns energy infrastructure like overhead and underground power cables - said there would be a reduction in the amount of electricity available to the network until 13 October following the fire."

Sorry Jim, much though it pains me to agree with Culzean his first sentence is correct. The interconnector is running at half capacity until Oct 2022, and won't be fully restored until May 2023.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/oct/15/kent-burnt-out-electricity-cable-will-take-two-more-years-to-get-back-to-full-service
That'd probably why Gridwatch is reporting much lower levels of imports.

[JimSh]

Hope they don't overload the remaining cable or they'll be even more reliant on the intermittent juice from Scotland.

Just looked for further information.
Interesting other articles too. There's lots going on.

https://www.current-news.co.uk/news/fire-damaged-ifa1-to-not-return-to-full-capacity-until-oct-2023-due-to-extensive-work-requried
Edit Added link

[culzean]

Sorry Jim, much though it pains me to agree with Culzean

Life 101....

Not everything you agree with is correct, and not everything you disagree with is wrong.

( refer to the signature line at bottom of my posts )

[culzean]

Hope they don't overload the remaining cable or they'll be even more reliant on the intermittent juice from Scotland.

LOL - windfarm owners get paid more 'not to generate' and perversely windfarm owners often build their farms in out of the way places that do not have a good connection to grid, that way they can rake in the 'constraint' payments - which get added to customers bills, so we are paying not to receive electricity, this way lies madness.

https://www.netzerowatch.com/cop26-windfarm-highlights-foolish-energy-policies/

[JimSh]

[

LOL - windfarm owners get paid more 'not to generate' and perversely windfarm owners often build their farms in out of the way places that do not have a good connection to grid, that way they can rake in the 'constraint' payments - which get added to customers bills, so we are paying not to receive electricity, this way lies madness.

https://www.netzerowatch.com/cop26-windfarm-highlights-foolish-energy-policies/

Another article from 55 Tufton Street
https://www.desmog.com/55-tufton-street/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/55_Tufton_Street

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/eu-referendum-eurosceptics-climate-change-sceptics-55-tufton-street-westminster-a6866021.html

[ColinB]

Sorry Jim, much though it pains me to agree with Culzean

Life 101....

Not everything you agree with is correct, and not everything you disagree with is wrong.

( refer to the signature line at bottom of my posts )

Nope, I've read this several times and I still don't understand your point. If the implication is that I'm an idiot because I disagree with you then (a) that's offensive to me and demeaning to you, and (b) I didn't offer any opinions, I was just supporting your statements by agreeing with your facts.

[culzean]

Sorry Jim, much though it pains me to agree with Culzean

Life 101....

Not everything you agree with is correct, and not everything you disagree with is wrong.

( refer to the signature line at bottom of my posts )

Nope, I've read this several times and I still don't understand your point. If the implication is that I'm an idiot because I disagree with you then (a) that's offensive to me and demeaning to you, and (b) I didn't offer any opinions, I was just supporting your statements by agreeing with your facts.

I am at a loss why you feel insulted, Read it again - what I am actually saying is when I tell someone something they do not agree with they will consider me an idiot, but if I tell them something they agree with they will probably consider me an expert ( confirmation bias,  people who agree with you are always smarter than those who do not )..

Some people will only consider you an expert if they agree with your point of view or advice,  when you give them advice they don't like they consider you an idiot

[culzean]

[

LOL - windfarm owners get paid more 'not to generate' and perversely windfarm owners often build their farms in out of the way places that do not have a good connection to grid, that way they can rake in the 'constraint' payments - which get added to customers bills, so we are paying not to receive electricity, this way lies madness.

https://www.netzerowatch.com/cop26-windfarm-highlights-foolish-energy-policies/

Another article from 55 Tufton Street
https://www.desmog.com/55-tufton-street/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/55_Tufton_Street

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/eu-referendum-eurosceptics-climate-change-sceptics-55-tufton-street-westminster-a6866021.html

Never realised the Scottish Daily Express was based in Tufton Street,  is every newspaper that published the story and the £519,000 constraint payment based in Tufton Street, and are they telling porkies ?

https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/scottish-news/exclusive-uk-bill-payers-fork-25408867?mc_cid=23528a85ee&mc_eid=2206e9995b

[JimSh]

Scroll down to the bottom of the article you linked to above

https://www.netzerowatch.com/cop26-windfarm-highlights-foolish-energy-policies/

I would imagine the Daily Express sources a lot of its material from Tufton Street.

[culzean]

Constraint payments are the bedrock of solar and wind,  and required because they are so unreliable with huge variations in their output hour by hour.     

https://news.stv.tv/scotland/electricity-customers-paid-windfarms-1bn-to-switch-off-turbines?top

[JimSh]

Constraint payments are the bedrock of solar and wind,  and required because they are so unreliable with huge variations in their output hour by hour.     

https://news.stv.tv/scotland/electricity-customers-paid-windfarms-1bn-to-switch-off-turbines?top

Why are these payments necessary? Surely it's just the payment system that is wrong.
If somebody runs a taxi firm they can't claim compensation if their taxi is surplus to requirements.
If there was a way of storing the extra energy --in batteries, in the form of hydrogen or in potential energy, there would be no need to shut down excess production in times of plentiful wind and there would be no need to rely on fossil fuels as a backup.