Place your bets now on when the lights will go off
Deepening Energy Crisis: Britain Has Become ‘Uninvestable’, Analyst Warns
Danny Fortson, The Sunday Times
The German owner of Npower is set to write off hundreds of millions of pounds on the value of its British power plants in the latest sign of a deepening crisis among the big six energy suppliers. RWE, one of Europe’s largest power companies, will reveal the British loss as part of an expected £4bn writedown of the value of its fleet of power stations.
RWE npower’s Major Power Plants in the UK (2007)
The loss arises from pollution taxes that are forcing the closure of old coal-fired plants. Big subsidies for renewable energy, meanwhile, have made even gas-burning plants, which are much cleaner than coal stations, loss-making.
The hit will alarm Whitehall, which is increasingly worried about the lights going out. Companies have stopped building new power stations amid a political and regulatory backlash, sparked last year by Ed Miliband’s pledge to freeze energy prices.
RWE, for example, has not commissioned a new plant in Britain since 2009, when it broke ground on a big wind farm and a gas-fired plant in Pembroke. Since then it has sold out of a consortium to build new nuclear plants, closed down plants capable of lighting more than 4m homes, and cancelled a proposed £4bn offshore wind farm. […]
Peter Atherton, analyst at Liberum Capital, said Britain had become uninvestable as political pressure over soaring household bills has intensified. “I can think of a dozen very good reasons not to invest in the UK, and not one good one to invest here this side of the election,” Atherton said.
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h/t to The GWPF
When the light and heat (or the a/c in summer) go off because of the lack of basic solid power that can’t be met by renewables (wind, solar etc) will the populace finally rise up and toss out the politicians that created such a regulatory mess that building new power stations is next to impossible?
That might be the day the execrable Bob Ward goes back to his home planet.
this was back in 2010
“Russia rescued British energy consumers by ensuring a steady flow of gas into the power network as supplies from Norway faltered during the cold weather, industry customers users said today.
As the National Grid warned of a “high” possibility of shortages in the north-east and south-west owing to another cold snap, the Major Energy Users’ Council said Britain had been lucky to survive without shortages.
Eddie Proffitt, chairman of the council’s gas group, said: “The [British] gas industry has coped very well but we have been lucky. It would have been desperate if we had seen the kind of disputes between Russia and Ukraine that have reduced gas flows on the continent in the past two or three Januaries.”
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2010/jan/13/russia-aids-gas-uk-gas-supply
oops.
@ur momisugly KRJ Pietersen says:
March 2, 2014 at 11:38 am
The interconnectors will may NO difference to the shortfalls There are very low power capabiliity!
Presently working are:-
French interconnecter 2GW
Dutch interconnector 1GW
Irish ICT interconnector 0.5 GW
Irish E-W interconnector 0.5 GW (new)
Total (if the wind is blowing well) 4GW AT this instant UK coal stations o/p = 14.84 GW
I totally agree with the remainder of your post.
cheers
P
I can say it’s a good thing we don’t have that type of wind energy crisis here in Kansas despite all the new wind farms going up.
I have heard before that the wind doesn’t blow when it’s cold in the UK. Kansas meanwhile doesn’t see that happen, the only difference is the direction from which the wind is blowing.
To note, I’ve read before that Dodge City Kansas is the windiest town in the US and Wichita (my hometown) being in the top 5, so wind power would almost be to the point of being reliable here (but we still need coal and natural gas for those few days where nothing blows).
You would think over here it’s another proposition pushed by the left, but over here (in part thanks to Kansas being a windy region), it’s supported by both parties (and the republican side is quite conservative).
Stephen Richards
“Can’t wait to see the old eatonians in a blind panic”,
It is, actually, not the Old Etonians fault – although one, David Cameron, cannot escape blame. As part of his coalition agreement with Nick Clegg, he let the Lib Dems hold the energy portfolio, so first, there was Hughne, who resigned from the Cabinet when he was charged with “perverting the course of justice” and, after denying the charge for a year, resigned as a member of parliament, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to eight months in prison.
He was succeeded by another global warming zealot, Ed Davey (there are so few Lib Dems in the house that Clegg is forced to scrape the barrel), of whom the columnist Littlejohn recently wrote:
“You stupid, stupid, stupid man. How else to react to the torrent of hysterical hyperbole spewing like vomit from the mouth of the Energy Secretary Ed Davey?”
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2559064/LITTLEJOHN-What-complete-parcel-molluscs.html#ixzz2upwK0S70
Actually, the Brits have set aside a half dozen or so seaside areas where they plan to locate new nuclear plants and have negotiated with practically all of the companies that can build them. Britain currently has 16 reactors in operation (total capacity 10 GW) providing 18% of their total power. On order or planned are 11 more reactors, with over 16 GW of capacity, or able to supply 30% of their total demand. That would equal roughly 50% of their power and would place them among the first ranks of emission-free power, far, far ahead of loudmouth dimwits like Gov Brown or Obama. This business of rushing to replace coal plants is just plain stupid, although for Obama it allows hm to shift attention away from the economy.
“The UK public voted those clowns into power and keep doing so.”
I believe you’ll find that the majority of Britons have been voting ‘none of the above’ for years, but they get a government anyway. If I remember correctly, Labour under Tony Blair never got more than 25% of available votes.
The British political system is irretrievably broken. And the problem is the politicians, not the voters.
As I understand it : the subsidies for ‘renewables’ pushed up energy prices by a lot. The public started grumbling and the Labour party’s Ed Milliband immediately blamed it on the greedy energy companies and vowed a price freeze. This turned out to be popular so the Tories jumped on the band-wagon as well. Result is as described above.
It may take longer than thought for blackouts to occur because the government has spent huge sums of money on a scheme where factory and hospital oil fired backup generators [for example] can be used to power the grid. Massively expensive but will keep the lights on for a while.
Germany is beginning to realise it is in a similar position and some politicians are trying to stop it.
Subsidising renewables has always been something that only the richest countries can afford. Unfortunately it turns them in to poor countries eventually. It is really surprising how many politicians are so much in favour of it. I wonder why? One can only speculate.
Adam from Kansas says:
March 2, 2014 at 12:00 pm
“I have heard before that the wind doesn’t blow when it’s cold in the UK”.
Oh, you can be sure that the wind always blows in the UK, whatever the weather 🙂
That’s not to say wind farms are the answer. In fact, if wind farms are the answer, I’d love to know what the question is…
“It is, actually, not the Old Etonians fault – although one, David Cameron, cannot escape blame.”
That Cameron couldn’t actually win a majority in Parliament when he only needed about 25% of the votes to conclusively beat the worst Prime Minister since the 70s… tells you everything you need to know about him and his party. Most people I know in the UK who’ve expressed a preference want to kick the Tories out at the next election, but the only viable choice is more of the same from Labour.
Milliband, Clegg, Cameron – a vote for any of them is a vote for energy poverty. But there’s no-one else to vote for. David Cameron is so smart at times, how can he be so stupid on this the most important issue of all?
The Dark Ages. Are we doomed to repeat it? Read history to find out how that happened, especially since it was on the heels of advances in scientific knowledge.
Roger Andrews has a guest post on Energy Matters;
How Much Windpower can the UK grid handle?
In comments we learn that ConocoPhillips plans to close a 70% thermal efficient 700 MW CCGT with combined heat and power because it doesn’t comply with EU Large Power Plant directive / or is losing money balancing wind. Its important to understand that a major component of UK power plant closures is down to EU environmental legislation that has nothing to do with CO2.
A few commenters above note the importance of Russia to Europe’s energy supply. Friday I heard John McCain talking about sanctions on Russia – I think Putin is having a good laugh!
Ukraine: Russia holds all the aces
I’ve never shared US loathing of Russia. I think it needs to be recognised that Russia has a vital strategic interest in the Crimea. Now I’m going to run for cover…
“The Dark Ages. Are we doomed to repeat it?”
Most productive people were better off in the ‘Dark Ages’ than they were when Rome made abandoning a farm a capital offense because they needed the taxes to sustain their bloated warfare/welfare state.
Comparisons to the present day are left to the reader.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Science_in_the_Middle_Ages
Science in the Middle Ages comprised the study of nature—including practical disciplines, mathematics and natural philosophy—in medieval Europe. Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the decline in knowledge of Greek, Christian Western Europe was cut off from an important source of ancient learning. Although a range of Christian clerics and scholars from Isidore and Bede to Buridan and Oresme maintained the spirit of rational inquiry, during the Early Middle Ages Western Europe would see a period of scientific decline. However, by the time of the High Middle Ages, the West had rallied and was on its way to once more taking the lead in scientific discovery (see Scientific Revolution).
http://www.reference.com/motif/history/dark-ages-timeline
The term Dark Ages originally refers to the period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance (approximately 500AD-1000AD), during which intellectual and cultural pursuits stagnated. It used to refer to the entire Middle Ages, though scholars in the 19th century began to recognize separate periods of growth within the medieval period. The Dark Ages were officially ushered in with the collapse of the Roman Empire, which was due to assault by barbarian tribes and a weak government. The Dark Ages is most widely recognized for the period of feudalism in Europe. Land was divided and partitioned to the serf population by a Lord. Serfs tilled the land and harvested crops, but gave most of their harvest to the Lord. In return, they were offered protection from the Lord. Knights were well above serfs in social and economic status. Viking raids were also characteristic of the Dark Ages. They ravaged the coastline of Europe, pillaging any nearby towns. They would often do this and leave before an adequate force could be mobilized to stop them. During the Dark ages, all scientific and empirical pursuits ceased and the Church had an enormous magnitude of power, even over kings. The Great Schism also occurred during this time period. The western and eastern branches of the Church split into the Eastern Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church. The division propagated for a number of different reasons and stands even today. The Dark Ages ended with the Renaissance, which means “rebirth.” It is during this period that classical knowledge re-emerged and people embarked upon new scientific endeavors. The Renaissance left a lasting mark upon the world, and there was incredible progress in a number of fields, such as philosophy, art, science and politics. For more information about the Dark Ages, please see:www.history.com More reference links: http://www.history.com http://www.timetoast.com
Power cuts – yes please, and preferably in the depths of a bad winter. Nothing will bring down the co2 political fools faster. This situation has been on the way for at least the last 20 years since the UK nuclear industry was run down and privatised. Lets see renewables take up the slack then. If this happens before the next general election we could see a very long overdue shake up of British politics. Bring it on.
mike Jonas
“how can he be so stupid ”
democracy institutionalises incompetence. Those who get elected have no qualification requirement so someone who knows nothing about defence can become defence minister,or nothing about energy can become energy secretary etc.
we do not elect airline pilots or ships captains by ‘popular vote’ but demand they can demonstrate some skill.
it is because democracy instituionalises incompetence that Plato in the Republic says it leads to tyranny as people look to a ‘strong man’ to sort the mess out when society becomes dysfunctional.
so if u have democracy expect incompetence. its one of its characteristics.
> Col Mosby says:
> March 2, 2014 at 12:02 pm
> Actually, the Brits have set aside a half dozen or so seaside areas where they plan to locate
> new nuclear plants and have negotiated with practically all of the companies that can build
> them.
I really wish that were true. Unfortunately all of the companies that had entered negotiations have backed out with the exception of EdF who managed to negotiate a guaranteed price deal for the proposed Hinkley Point ‘C’ plant in Somerset. Centrica, RWE and E.ON have all abandoned any plans to build new plants. Meanwhile the existing nuclear plants are rapidly approaching end of life and I don’t expect any replacements to arrive before they shut down as it takes at least 5 years to design, build and commission a new plant and given the Byzantine planning system we now have i this country a decade is more realistic.
Successive governments have really screwed things up royally and our brain dead media are wearing nice rosy global warming blinkers. To someone like myself who spent many years working in the UK power industry this is sheer unadorned lunacy.
Keith
MarkG says:
March 2, 2014 at 12:02 pm
“The British political system is irretrievably broken. And the problem is the politicians, not the voters”.
There’s an old maxim that you get the government you deserve. Thomas Jefferson is credited with saying it first, but H.L. Mencken said the same thing, but better: “People deserve the government they get, and they deserve to get it good and hard”.
The British people, in line with everyone else in the western world, are quite content if they have a decent supply of pre-made frozen dinners and an impressive range of reality TV options. All other things are secondary.
“There’s an old maxim that you get the government you deserve.”
When I lived in the UK, I could vote for the Tories, and the Tories would win the seat. I could vote for Labour, and Tories would win. I could vote for the Raving Loonies… sorry… Liberal Democrats, and the Tories would win. I could vote for Greens, and the Tories would win.
What exactly did you expect me to do, in order to get a government I ‘deserved’?
Take a clue from the Canadians and put on a sweater – and stop whimpering.
http://nofrakkingconsensus.com/2014/02/11/government-tells-public-theyre-morons/
J Martin says:
March 2, 2014 at 12:16 pm
“Power cuts – yes please, and preferably in the depths of a bad winter. Nothing will bring down the co2 political fools faster”.
I understand what you mean, but please be careful with your rhetoric. Power cuts “in the depths of a bad winter” would mean the deaths of old and underprivileged people. There are better ways of winning this fight than the deaths of people, especially those already at the margins of society.
If Labour get back in at next election it will be as welcome as an asteroid stike to the UK
Looks like Cameron is even more indecisive than Obama!!!! The turning point was in 2008 when the now opposition leader Miliband (Then the Minister of State for Energy) had a bill passed to reduce CO2 emissions unilaterally. The EU added to this by forcing the closure of our Power Generating Coal Fleet. We have also converted other Coal Burning stations to enable them to burn WOOD. We now have a minus 2 percent margin of peak capacity versus peak demand in winter. Miliband then pulled off the stupendous trick last year of frightening off investment by saying he would freeze electricity prices for almost two years when he got back into power! Hence the poor investment climate. So to fix the situation Cameron needs to repeal the 2008 bill, roll back the EU regulations and deregulate to enable gas & coal stations to operate in an economic manner. For the sake of clarity I have omitted the sagas of Wndmill Farms having on-off subsidies as well as on-off wind which produce electricity at several times the current cost and Nuclear Power Station(s) subsidised to produce electricity at only twice the current cost for at least THIRTY YEARS. So Cameron has a lot of work to do to get back to sanity. He’s not up to it I’m afraid so we will get both power cuts and Ed Miliband. At least the right man will eventually get the blame. At the tender age of seventy I’m thinking of emigrating.
“If voting made any difference they wouldn’t let us do it.” ~ Mark Twain
I got into a tiff with Tallbloke a couple of years ago. He was ragging on some power company’s profits, and I was telling him he better damn well hope the power company was making profits.
Or else you get what is happening.
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markstoval says:
March 2, 2014 at 11:47 am
The Democratic Party in the U.S. would love to see us in the same boat. The left seems to hate the idea of the industrial revolution and relatively cheap energy. I don’t know why exactly.
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The Dems are decadent. They don’t know where things come from, or how things get done. For 50 years, they have been piling regulations on the companies that make the gas for their cars and the bread for their kitchen, oblivious that there are consequences for the regulations. Mark, I don’t think they are against “the industrial revolution and relatively cheap energy.” I think they just don’t know they are doing damage to it. They really are that stupid.