By Paul Homewood
h/t Joe Public
This was Putin back in 2010, very funny, but also highly prescient.
While Europe is cursing him now, they only have themselves to blame for continuing to demonise his gas and oil :
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
I notice this morning that the latest “shoot from the hip” annoucement from Boris just talks about Wind/Solar and Nuclear by 2035. Has he just remembered that somebody told something?
No suggestion of what the share of each would be – but surely you would need enough Nuclear to provide base load, and enough to back up the “ruinables”. Given that you cannot just switch Nuclear on and off, why not just use Nuclear all the time?
OR have I missed something?
The Cockwomble speaks but as ever is devoid of an appreciation for Physics. Nuclear clearly is the solution however we still need variable capacity (preferably natural gas?) to run the grid is my understanding.
Well actually very little gas would be required – here is the detailed solution.
http://euanmearns.com/decarbonising-uk-power-generation-the-nuclear-option/
We need lots of windfarms. Think of all those subsidies. Someone is making lots and lots of money. Thanks goodness there is no corruption in our government, so their decisions are based on what is best for the people.
Of course the latest bondoggle is to cover Morocco with solar panels and run a power cable to Devon!!! Seems to be another Ivanpah in the making.
The mind boggles.
That is simply trolling the Hinkley Point EPR. It would connect to the grid just the other side of Exmoor, and need its power lines for distribution.
He is beyond stupid. If we have to do stuff to satisfy the Green God, then the most sensible way to go about it is to wait until others have started down the road. There are 2 simple reasons for that that even our braindead PM should be capable of understanding:
1. The UK’s emissions make absolutely no difference and never will;
2. If costs of Green tech are going to come down then wait until they come down.
But Johnson loves to grandstand, loves to be the centre of attention, loves to be the favourite with the other leaders. We are led by the vainest, most needy PM we have ever had,.
Apologies for late reply, Phoenix. It seems that BJ never did any work on project management in his Eton days – or since. One of the main things to learn (actually, I believe it to be THE main thing to learn) is to know what your key success indicator(s) is/are for the project you are undertaking.
So, that demands the question: how will you know, BJ, that your NZC project has worked? Given that the UK’s contribution to global human-emitted CO2 is so incredibly small?
Let’s face it, BJ, you haven’t a clue what damage you are going to visit on this country.
There’s going to be a lot of cold, dead people between now and 2035.
8Kw generator arrived today in anticipation of the coming years of fuel starvation. We are very lucky we can afford one, many can’t. We’ll be keeping an eye on one particular, very elderly neighbour if the lights go out. Half a day without heating would very possibly kill her.
All you need is diesel for it now!
Mr Walker,
I have read, but that does not say it is accurate, that small modular reactors can modulate output and this is promising.
However our Prime Minister is saying we can eliminate fossil fuel generation by 2035.
It is difficult to forecast what demand will be by then which will be to large extent dependant on how many heat pumps and evs are in use.
If we assume a peak demand conservatively as 55 to 60 Gwatts and given that renewables at time generate in the single Gwatt figures plus some interconnector (risky to rely on), we will need over 50 Gwatts of nuclear. If we get another three plus Hinkley Point by a yet uncommitted large reactor construction this means about 100 SMR’s in 14 years time?
I understand that there are overseas buyers also wishing to buy SMRs from Rolls Royce.
It just seems pie in the sky to me. Obviously Boris will no longer be Prime Minister, if indeed he lasts much longer in the job anyway given how support for his policies on energy have gone down?
A few years back, Nigel Farage made a comment for which he was much derided in the media. When asked which politicians he admired across the world, he said Putin. Queue outrage. He said something along the lines of “look, I don’t actually agree with what he does but you have to admire the way he runs rings around the EU and other states across the world on so many issues”.
Farage was right and now Putin controls the gas supplies for vast swathes of Europe, again enabling him to do what he likes at the expense of other countries with leaders less economically and politically astute than him.
It never rains but it pours:
France threatens to ‘limit energy to UK’ as Brexit ‘non-compliance’ reaches boiling point
https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1500569/france-limit-energy-flow-uk-brexit-english-channel-fishing-row-eu-latest
Or “France threatens to cut off its own nose to spite ins face yet again”.
Macron really is about as clever as our PM.
We were supposed to end up with at least 8.8GW of interconnector capacity to France…
Of course we have to remember that the Germans are about to get seriously short of power.
https://timera-energy.com/the-urgent-need-for-german-flex/
Could this Devon village hold the key to our energy crisis?
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10055293/Devons-Alverdiscott-linked-2-360-mile-cable-solar-wind-farm-Morocco.html
Unfortunately not, though every little helps, especially when it’s 3.6 GW (capacity) of ‘green’ Electricity from Morocco.
Not even Moroccans enjoy 100% renewable electricity from Morocco’s most famous (but wholly uneconomic) Noor1 solar plant, opened in a blaze of publicity for its COP22.
Strangely, the publicity failed to mention one crucial point:
Morocco is also facing a massive energy crisis of its own: relations with Algeria have broken down to the extent that all gas supplies from there could be cut off at the end of this month.
It’s rather similar to the situation of Ukraine and Poland wrt supplies from Russia.
Excellent kunning plan.
After all, Morocco is pretty well signed up to the Religion of Peace.
What could go wrong?
And a pity about the transmission losses…
The Russians – for all of Putin’s faults, and he has very many as we know, he has more common sense than all the dumbos running the Western governments put together.
50 years ago, back in the deep cold war, we used to translate to English all the Russian Science books and documents (incl. meteorology) that we could get our hands – a reflection of respect for their science. Also worth noting that of all the climate models (35?!? +) the nearest to reality over the last 30 years has been the Russian one.
Of course you could have been nearer than most with a piece of graph paper and pencil, informed by the cyclic nature of the last 150 years of temps.
Those damn Russkis ain’t stupid. Which country has been leading the world recently in constructing nuclear ice breakers? Yep, Russia. The AMO will be turning negative soon and the Russians want to be able to keep their northern ports open. Current man made global warming theory is a Western mental illness that our Eastern chums won’t be catching any time soon.
Common sense is indeed lacking in the West, e.g.,:
1)The UK’s negligible CO2 output should excuse us from participation in decarbonisation.
2)There is no evidence of decarbonisation influencing climate, let alone proof.
3)We are already in huge debt and a cost of £3tn or any suchlike expenditure by mid century will ruin us.
4)Even total global decarb. could drop the pCO2 from. say, 400ppm to 370ppm.
5) CO2 tensions much higher than those now have obtained with an effect only of greening the planet but no damage to the Earth’s creatures0.
6)The variable activities of the Sun, rather than fluctuations in pCO2, is now believed to govern planet Earth’s temperatures.
7) Financial and industrial depression will allow near-fatal damage to us, while the East continues to prosper.
There are many additional arguments against the rising CO2-climate speculations.
We must stop CO2-climate speculation from ruining us all, including the “great and the good” who promulgate received opinion!
“We must stop CO2-climate speculation from ruining us all, including the “great and the good” who promulgate received opinion!”
And in some cases gain from it.
In a demonstration of their utter contempt for that part of the population who missed out for a variety of reasons on higher education, The BBC have now rewritten the Chemistry books. Where CO2 is the villain of the piece it is portrayed as black smoke billowing from cooling towers and called carbon and dirty, but recently, when we discover that it performs a useful and necessary function in food processing and in dealing with leaves on the railtracks, it is exclusively called dry ice.
They now seem to have acquired a patron in the form of Boris the bumbling blond behemoth in Manchester, broadcasting bullsh*t about bringing net zero back to 2035.
He forgets that their are a number of general elections to hold before that can happen, and would be well advised to consider the selfless acts of the people who were confronted last week by a minor distribution problem at the forecourts.
Will the entire populace have a govt contribution towards their new EV or was that just for the rich Boys? Who will be allowed foreign holidays? Put up or shut up, I think we should be told.
Yes. Its interesting also that when a cold winter means coal powered stations are woken from their long slumber and bought on line ( to run continuously) they by magic become ‘Rankine units’
Abolish all coal powered stations by renaming them as Rankine stations. Problem fixed.
Today’s news reports claim the UK will be importing 1400 megawatts from Norwegian hydro-power.
Apparently the UK will be exporting electricity generated by wind turbine.
Though no figures were provided on this.
But then the report, which said all this was in the name of achieving net zero, was made by the BBC.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-58772572
The reality is that the Norwegians have already said they’re limiting exports to 700MW for the time being. The reasons are clear:
https://www.statnett.no/en/for-stakeholders-in-the-power-industry/data-from-the-power-system/#hydrological-data
Reservoir levels are low for the time of year (so they might ban exports altogether if it gets really tight), and also they really don’t want prices to match those on the Continent and in the UK. German future prices over the winter are over €270/MWh, and ours over £280/MWh too. That would be crippling for a country that uses electricity for heating.
The solution is in Europe’s hands – approve Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
Nord Stream 2: Gazprom says new pipeline to Germany is ready
10 September
It still needs to be certified by Germany’s regulator, a process that could take up to four months.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-58520563
Essentially it just re routes gas that used to travel via Ukraine and Poland- and pay transmission fees. Thats why Poland especially is up in arms on this. They have got the US to interfere on their behalf.
The Poles would win both ways if Nordstream 2 was not commissioned, transmission fees and make Germany pay dearly for Polish coal powered electricity at peak times.
The Poles are currently winning from having much cheaper coal fired power. About €100/MWh, not €260+/MWh that the Germans will be paying this winter. Gas supply may be a different issue.
Putin will be cackling even more when Germany closes its 7 remaining nukes next year…..
Should be interesting weather over the next 2-3 weeks.
(UK Met Office, GFS, GEM, and ECWMF models all indicate) 3 to 5 days of gusty showers gradually making way for another High pressure area to sit over the country — mild, dry, and still air with a probable change to fog and frosts. Depending on which model you look at this calm, dry period lasts anywhere from 4 to 9 days.
GFS and GEM models indicate that maybe by day ten (from now) the wind might swing round to the North bringing much cooler and drier air of the UK. Either way windfarms will not be powering much of the UK over this period.
More gas, oil, coal needed Bozo Johnson.
Long term, Bozo Johnson, we need reliable electric generation (not net-zero) to service our baseload requirement.
The return of Dunkelflaute?!!
I’m hoping for Dummkopfversenkung!
Putin mutters a few soothing words and…
UK gas prices fall from record high after Russia steps in
UK wholesale gas prices hit a record high before falling after Russia said it was boosting supplies to Europe.
Russia President Vladimir Putin appeared to calm the market after gas prices had risen by 37% in 24 hours to trade at 400p per therm on Wednesday.
UK gas was 60p per therm at the start of the year, but high global demand and reduced supply has driven prices up.
The high cost of wholesale gas has seen several UK energy firms collapse and halted production across industries.
Following Mr Putin’s comments on supplies, gas prices dropped to about 257p a therm later on Wednesday.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58815665
– – –
Doff the cap to the energy saviour 🙄
The introduction of ‘Red’ Gas.