Germany closes all nuclear plants.

[Skogsgurra]

A decision taken by German government tonight says that (all) nuclear plants shall be closed by year 2022.

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

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Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.

 

[Skogsgurra]

No, not government - the coalition.

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

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Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.

 

[itsmoked]

They can do that because they've covered every square inch of dirt with solar panels...

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[rasevskii]

The result of this can be predicted: The EU has announced recently that smart meters are to be made mandatory by some future deadline, and that all Electricity Suppliers have to replace the old mechanical meters. By decree...

That means electricity rationing as the grid will not be able to supply the demand anymore.

We can see wild swings in the KWh price possibly on a moment-by-moment basis. It may well become a politcal and marketing bonanza. Those well-connected (politically or socially) will get the better rates and more kWh than those not well-connected...

A question is: Will a remote cutoff switch at the consumer meter also be made a requirement?

Fortunately we still have gas in our apartment buildings, hot coffee and basic needs will still be possible. Pity those without gas supply...

rasevskii

 

[m3ntosan]

Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin has told German businessmen that they may have to rely on Russian firewood for heating if they do not want to construct new nuclear power plants or bring in Russian gas supplies. At a business conference organized in Berlin by the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Putin recognized that "the German public does not like the nuclear power industry for some reason." He continued: "But I cannot understand what fuel you will take for heating. You do not want gas, you do not develop the nuclear power industry, so you will heat with firewood?" Putin then noted, "You will have to go to Siberia to buy the firewood there," as Europeans "do not even have firewood."

May you grow up to be righteous, may you grow up to be true...

 

[boshnaq84]

They are already heavily investing in northern Africa for solar energy, i think they will have enough electricity for all their needs by 2022

 

[rasevskii]

for boshnag84.

hmmm...by connecting all the solar panels in series (on suitable insulators)one could get several hundred kV for a DC link to Europe, say the positive pole to Spain and the negative to Italy...an interesting challenge for the next generations of power engineers. Oh, and Earthed at the center point, say in Libya...

rasevskii

 

[waross]

How about nuclear plants in Canada producing environmentally friendly oil?
Consider, upgrading bitumen to synthetic crude requires a lot of energy. Much of this is supplied by natural gas with lower carbon emissions than heavier fuels, but this energy could be supplied by a nuclear plant with further reduced emissions.
There are two basic processes to upgrade bitumen. One process produces carbon as a by product. Much of this carbon is burned with resulting CO2 emissions.
The other process involves adding hydrogen to the hydro-carbon molecules, with a slightly better yield.
Now, if nuclear energy is used to hydrolyze water to produce the hydrogen we have better yields and a process that generates oxygen as a by product.
A possible oil production method which reduces emissions and generates oxygen as a by product! (Grin)


Bill
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"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter

 

[rmw]

It is all very idealistic and such decisions are made by those who have no idea where things come from; things like electricity when you flip the switch or gas when you turn the valve. They remind me of my children who grew up thinking that if you needed money you simply went to the ATM and got some. Well just like the ATM and money, there is no magic source for energy.

Let the people sit in the cold and dark for a lond cold, dark winter and they will elect new leaders with some sense.

rmw

 

[ScottyUK]

Germany does have very large reserves of coal, which Mr. Putin seems to have overlooked. I'm not sure how easy it would be to claim that lignite from opencast sources could be environmentally-friendly, but given the clear need to retire the nuclear fleet I can see it makes perfect sense.


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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[cranky108]

Another option is, presently the USA is one of the biggest exporter of coal, and since the president wants us to shut down our coal plants, we will have more to export.

 

[waross]

President Bush announced plans to sequester coal. Yes,I know, I couldn't believe it until I checked the transcript on the White House web site. A thought came to mind;
"You may be able to sequester that coal in abandoned coal mines."

Bill
--------------------
"Why not the best?"
Jimmy Carter

 

[ScottyUK]

cranky,

We had a large mining industry until a generation ago, with modern well-equipped mines and 300 years of winnable reserves. We had a nationalised power generation industry which was the principal customer for coal. We also had natural gas from the North Sea which could have provided cheap fuel for domestic and commercial customers.

Now we have closed the mines, sacked the miners, closed many of the coal-fired power plants, burned all our gas in CCGT power plants in just fifteen years, privatised destroyed the power industry and sold its corpse to the French, and are watching our energy bills rise every day.

Never underestimte the stupidity of politicians.


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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[itsmoked]

But you're not bitter..

Keith Cress
kcress -

http://www.flaminsystems.com

 

[Skogsgurra]

He should be.. I am getting there.

Gunnar Englund

http://www.gke.org

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Half full - Half empty? I don't mind. It's what in it that counts.

 

[cranky108]

But you have wind power, and solar energy, and high taxes.

I know a losers trophy isen't much to talk about.

I still don't understand this desire to pick a losing idea, and follow it.

And if we don't burn our coal, we are willing to export it to China where they will. Hummmmm.

 

[ScottyUK]

Wind power - yes it's a great idea. Unfortunately we're having a few problems getting planning consent to erect wind turbines in the Palace of Westminster where there is a perpetual source of hot air.

As for solar, have you seen our climate? If we had a few more mountains we'd be sorted for hydro!


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If we learn from our mistakes I'm getting a great education!

 

[cranky108]

OK, no solar.

We have the altitude for hydro, but we aren't allowed to dam the rivers with out an enviromental impact study. Which is dumb because the rivers don't have fish, except what the fish hatcheries put there.

Actually we do have run of the pipe hydro from dams created over 50 years ago. But they are all small. After all 1MW just won't go as far as it once did. But the diced fish make it smell bad. (One wonders why they put fish in high altitude lakes, where no fishing is allowed).

But because of coal, hydro, and gas (And they keep finding more gas), we don't have nuclear in the area.

They even found they can capture gas in coal seems that are not worth mining, and in waste dumps.

 

[LSpark]

I'm getting to the stage where I'd just like the government to stick to an energy policy rather than changing their minds every year or two. A few years ago clean coal was the government preferred choice , then nuclear and now ?

It seems that the UK isn't alone in having politicians who know almost nothing about the electricity supply industry.

 

[btrueblood]

"President Bush announced plans to sequester coal. Yes,I know, I couldn't believe it until I checked the transcript on the White House web site. A thought came to mind;"You may be able to sequester that coal in abandoned coal mines." "

Yes, and then some landowners will be able to apply for federal subsidies for sequestering coal in virtual mines, i.e. leaving it in place.