Author Topic: The great debate - Published Dec 2009  (Read 15081 times)

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Offline Ian

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The great debate - Published Dec 2009
« on: November 23, 2014, 08:23:03 am »
Oil be blowed!

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Well, Llandudno TC has decided to cancel the fireworks tonight and shelve the whole thing until next year. Which is a pity, but understandable, given the rather dire forecast. December is being very...Decemberish, with the snows on the Carneddau remorselessly advancing to lower levels each day.  Which is very pretty, if you didn't know that the Ogwen team are almost certainly going to be called out at some point to rescue the hapless, the unprepared and the sheer daft. But there's something delightful about seeing the snow, layering the fourteen peaks and edging, like carefully prepared frosting, ever lower.

Meanwhile, the BBC's excellent Newswatch (0750 Saturdays - BBC1) found itself having to defend its coverage of the theft of the emails from the East Anglia Climate Research Unit. There are those, you see, who wonder if the Global Warming stories are all part of some massive conspiracy, created to stop us enjoying life to the full, with gas-guzzling cars, electricity hungry devices and plastic bags.

What's sad, however is that the message about consumption isn't really getting through.  The plastic bag story, which revealed that millions of Tesco bags are strangling the ocean, somewhere, didn't think to mention that plastic comes from oil, oil is certainly not going to last forever, and that - really - we're all still living in the aftermath and with the mindset of the industrial revolution.

Nuclear power is being hailed as the energy source for the 21st C, which it could be, although Nuclear fusion is the real hope for the future, and yet our method of generating electricity is still almost horse-and-cart.  All the nuclear option does is produce a lot of heat, which boils water, which turns turbines which generate electricity. in the short term, we'll need nuclear, as oil is simply getting much harder to extract, but fission comes with its own problems - notably the rather unpleasant waste products.

All of this is being ignored, however, as the row over data falsification continues. What we need is for climatologists to come clean, admit that no one really understands weather (it's far too complex at the moment), but we do know that the earth itself is warming, when all the astrophysical data suggest the opposite ought to be happening and we absolutely need to stop waste and profligacy.  If they did that, then they may well be taken more seriously.
Nothing is so firmly believed as that which we least know.  ― Michel de Montaigne

Si hoc legere scis, nimis eruditionis habes.

Offline SteveH

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Re: The great debate - Nuclear energy
« Reply #1 on: September 06, 2022, 10:28:17 am »
The subject of Nuclear power seems to be raising it's head, with the energy problems we are having, Germany to delay phase-out of nuclear plants to shore up energy security https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/sep/05/germany-to-delay-phase-out-of-nuclear-plants-to-shore-up-energy-security
also France and Japan increasing plans for more NPS


Offline Helig

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Re: The great debate - Published Dec 2009
« Reply #2 on: September 06, 2022, 11:19:58 am »
According to online sources, we get about half of our gas from North Sea fields. We get about 3% of our gas from Russia and a third from Norway. The rest is made up of imports of liquified natural gas (LNG) transported to the UK by sea from countries such as Qatar and the US. This is dated 4 August 2022. Plus: "There are over 200 oil and gas fields operating in the North Sea, which currently supply approximately half of the UK's gas needs". This is dated 10 March 2022.

How can they justify the massive price rises if we are getting a half of our gas from the North Sea? I seem to remember the days when the North Sea gas was something that was held to be the answer to our energy needs for many years (200?).

Offline mull

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Re: The great debate - Published Dec 2009
« Reply #3 on: September 06, 2022, 12:08:38 pm »
The whole thing is a farce. The UK has all the Gas and Oil it needs and does not need to buy it in from other countries.

That being the case, WHY, are UK customers paying the high rates. Notice how that other oil and gas producing countries look after themselves, and not allow being ripped off by these big companies.

!2+ years of mis management, the SNP have the right idea, why do we have to put up with it .

Offline Hugo

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Re: The great debate - Published Dec 2009
« Reply #4 on: September 06, 2022, 12:21:32 pm »
The whole thing is a farce. The UK has all the Gas and Oil it needs and does not need to buy it in from other countries.

That being the case, WHY, are UK customers paying the high rates. Notice how that other oil and gas producing countries look after themselves, and not allow being ripped off by these big companies.

!2+ years of mis management, the SNP have the right idea, why do we have to put up with it .

If the Energy companies are having their highest ever profits then why on earth are they allowed to automatically increase their prices?
It seems absurd and no one seems to know the answer, apart from perhaps the Conservatives

Offline SteveH

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Re:Wylfa and Trawsfynydd Mini-nuclear power stations. Rolls-Royce SMR
« Reply #5 on: November 09, 2022, 02:42:27 pm »
Wylfa and Trawsfynydd on UK shortlist of four priority sites for mini-nuclear powers stations
Rolls-Royce SMR today released its shortlist after a site assessment review in a move welcomed by Ynys Mon MP Virginia Crosbie

Wylfa and Trawsfynydd have been named on a priority shortlist of four sites for mini-nuclear power stations. Rolls-Royce SMR, supported by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), has completed a siting assessment review into the potential options for deploying Rolls-Royce SMR power stations..... https://www.rolls-royce.com/innovation/small-modular-reactors.aspx#/

The study is another important step in deploying a fleet of small modular reactors (SMRs) that could help ensure the UK can reach net zero and bolster energy security. This is the first phase in a programme of work which is considering siting, collaboration opportunities and the socio-economic benefits of deploying Rolls-Royce SMR units on land within the NDA estate - with other locations across the UK also being evaluated.

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/wylfa-trawnsfynydd-uk-shortlist-four-25473090

Offline SteveH

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Re: The great debate - Published Dec 2009
« Reply #6 on: December 20, 2022, 09:37:14 am »
Update on above

A North Wales site is on the list of the final three locations under consideration for a nuclear factory. The three sites from which Rolls-Royce SMR will select the location of its first factory have been announced.

The heavy pressure vessels (HPV) factory will produce components for a fleet of small modular reactors (SMR) designed and built in the UK. Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd and Wylfa on Ynys Mon (Anglesey) are among the frontrunners to host an SMR power plant.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/north-wales-site-shortlist-build-25786781

Offline SteveH

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Re: The great debate - Published Dec 2009
« Reply #7 on: December 23, 2022, 10:35:46 am »
Nuclear power: Radioactive waste to be buried at Gwynedd plant

Low levels of radioactive waste could be buried at the site of a former nuclear power station, under new plans.

Magnox, owner of the Trawsfynydd site in Gwynedd, said it was considering burying some of the waste below ground and capping it with concrete.

The company described the proposal as "unordinary" and said it was one of two options being looked at.

Anti-nuclear group Cadno said it would cause "serious safety issues" and wants the waste stored safely above ground.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-64065576

Offline SteveH

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Re: The great debate - Published Dec 2009
« Reply #8 on: December 28, 2022, 10:34:48 am »
I thought the latest idea, was to be in control of our own energy supplies, there is talk of Norway and Hollands future plans to sell us energy,
and now America, surely after recent events, we can organise our own energy ? bearing in mind the above story about Rolls Royce.

A US energy firm is in talks with Welsh Government over a nuclear site in North Wales. NuScale Power says it is ?ready to move forward? with its small modular reactor (SMR) technology in the UK.

It told New Civil Engineer(NCE) that they were speaking to Welsh Government about the Trawsfynydd site. The Government in Cardiff has set up Cwmni Egino to bring small modular reactor (SMR) technology to the Gwynedd site, with a target date for construction to start in 2027.

They have three potential sites at the land on the edge of Trawsfynydd and have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). There are now a number of potential firms eyeing up the Traws site.

Rolls-Royce SMR has named Wylfa and Trawsfynydd on a priority shortlist of four sites for mini-nuclear power stations following a siting assessment review. Balfour Beatty has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Holtec Britain to support the planning advancement for the construction of Holtec?s SMR-160 pressurised light-water reactors in the UK.

Holtec International is planning to start the UK regulatory acceptance process of its SMR-160 reactors in 2023, which, if granted, will enable the start of the construction of the first UK unit in as early as 2028. NuScale President of VOYGR (the name of their SMR plants) services and delivery Tom Mundy said their company?s SMR technology has already been developed - and the next step is to deploy it on sites.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/energy-firm-talks-welsh-government-25842380

Offline SteveH

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Re: The great debate - Published Dec 2009
« Reply #9 on: May 11, 2023, 09:50:59 am »
400 job mini-nuclear plant proposal at North Wales site takes step forward
Cwmni Egino said it has completed its first phase of development work at Trawsfynydd

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/400-job-mini-nuclear-plant-26885584

Offline SteveH

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Re: US nuclear giant to open new offices on Anglesey
« Reply #10 on: July 01, 2023, 10:15:02 am »
A US nuclear giant is opening new offices on Anglesey - creating jobs on the island. Westinghouse Environmental Services - part of the wider Westinghouse group - will open a decommissioning hub at Menai Science Park (M-SParc).

This will see 15 roles created in the first 12 months but the firm said there were "larger growth aspirations beyond this". Staff at the offices could be supporting projects around the globe but the site will also be in close proximity to Wylfa on Anglesey and Trawsfynydd in Gwynedd where decommissioning is taking place.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/nuclear-giant-open-new-offices-27229536

Offline SteveH

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Re: The great debate - Published Dec 2009
« Reply #11 on: November 17, 2023, 10:21:00 am »
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Nuclear Energy says if the UK Government chooses to pursue further large-scale nuclear stations then it must back Wylfa on Anglesey as the next site during this Parliament. The cross-party group of MPs and Peers also said in a new report that they needed to start negotiating as soon as possible to determine which reactor technology is best placed to deliver the project.

The report, Made in Britain: The Pathway to a Nuclear Renaissance, argues that a mix of large and small-scale reactors will be needed to replace a 15 gigawatt (GW) nuclear shortfall after Hinkley Point C, Sizewell C and the first Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) come online, with a major, multi-reactor, large-scale project at Wylfa critical to that effort.

cont https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/back-wylfa-next-nuke-station-28118918

Offline SteveH

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Re: The great debate - Nuclear power
« Reply #12 on: January 11, 2024, 10:05:18 am »
The government hopes to boost the nuclear power industry with the biggest expansion of the sector in 70 years.

A new large-scale nuclear plant would quadruple supplies by 2050, which the government claims would lower bills and improve energy security.

It also said its ?300m nuclear fuel programme would reduce reliance on overseas supply.

But the Association for Renewable Energy and Clean Technology (REA) said all clean energy needed fast-tracking.

Nuclear power currently provides around 15% of the UK's electricity but many of the country's ageing reactors are due to be decommissioned over the next decade.

The government's Civil Nuclear Roadmap is intended to bolster the UK's energy independence by exploring a new site for another nuclear power station of the size and scale of the ?30bn plants under construction at Hinkley Point in Somerset and committed to Sizewell in Suffolk.

Industry sources have told the BBC the leading candidates would include Wylfa on Anglesey or Moorside in Cumbria.

cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-67939708

Offline SteveH

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Re: The great debate - Nuclear power
« Reply #13 on: February 13, 2024, 10:08:58 am »
UK government ?working on? sites for nuclear plants amid reports of Wylfa talks
Energy department says location in Wales, which is owned by Hitachi, is among those being considered

The UK government has said it is working on making sites available for new nuclear power stations, amid reported talks with the owner of the Wylfa facility in north Wales.

Hitachi owns the site on the island of Anglesey or Ynys M?n, but its future has been uncertain since 2020, when the Japanese company formally abandoned its own effort to build a new reactor there after failing to agree financial support with the government.

The government is in early-stage discussions with Hitachi to acquire the land, with the intention of finding a partner to develop a nuclear power station there.

cont https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/feb/12/uk-government-hitachi-talks-nuclear-power-station-wales-wylfa?IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

Offline SteveH

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Re: The great debate - Nuclear power
« Reply #14 on: March 07, 2024, 09:38:04 am »
UK Government to buy Wylfa off Hitachi for ?160m

Talks will now take place between the government and potential new developers for the site.

Ms Crosbie said: "?This is a huge day for our island with this UK government firmly putting its money where its mouth is by buying the Wylfa site. I could not be more thrilled to hear those words come from the Chancellor today. It is exactly what I have cajoled, ambushed and pleaded for to happen with every minister I could find.

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/uk-government-buy-wylfa-site-28765374