So much for "energy independence"...
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Ratcliffe Power Station
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R
RailUK Forums
Indeed, we do. But the suggestion to build ten nuclear power plants was in answer to:
Yes. It’s an especially sad history given how far the civil nuclear industry was developed in the UK.
Technocratic government doesn’t have a great record either, I’m afraid. I’m not sure the Covid pandemic has done it many favours.
Are you sure that is true of Cornish pitchblende ? The only reference I have found to the concentration suggests one lode is 26% uranium oxide.
https://www.nature.com/articles/102427b0
Yeah, the actual ore deposits themselves are high quality, but they are relatively small. Which makes it uneconomical to exploit them since there's a lot of spoil for comparatively little ore.
brad465
Veteran Member
It's scheduled to close September next year so that will be the latest. However if it's mothballed from an earlier date, which is likely given summer energy demands are lower, then the last train may well be earlier than that.
D6130
Established Member
I wonder whether they'll have to shut the Midland Main Line when they blow-up the chimney and cooling towers? If not, East Midlands Parkway may have its busiest ever day, passenger-wise!
brad465
Veteran Member
I'd be very surprised if the line wasn't shut given the close proximity. I believe they shut it for Didcot even though they were a bit further from the nearest line (GWML). However, demolitions like this usually happen in the early hours of a Sunday morning, when there is little disruption, so while the line would be officially shut, very little traffic would be affected. Maybe block out your diary in Summer 2025 and 2026.I wonder whether they'll have to shut the Midland Main Line when they blow-up the chimney and cooling towers? If not, East Midlands Parkway may have its busiest ever day, passenger-wise!
For some trivia, they don't just shut railways for demolitions, but major roads too if drivers could be distracted by a demolition in their eyeline - when Littlebrook Power Station (near Dartford) and its chimney were demolished in 2019, the QEII bridge had a rolling closure for each of the planned demolitions for this reason.
dangie
On Moderation
I watched the demolition of Rugeley Power Station from a nearby field. It seemed they didn’t close the WCML when they blew up the boiler house. A Pendolino passed a couple of minutes before and a London North Western appeared through the dust cloud a few minutes after. There was little wind and the dust hung around for quite a long time.
Hairy Bear
Member
There's plans in place to carry on as an incinerator power station.At an early stage though.I wonder whether they'll have to shut the Midland Main Line when they blow-up the chimney and cooling towers? If not, East Midlands Parkway may have its busiest ever day, passenger-wise!
Worked most days through this Summer, remains to be be seen if we will have the capacity next summer to replace it.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Exactly. The point is these are very friendly countries to us - so in effect we would be close to energy independence.
see above
There are friendly countries we can buy coal and oil from as well...
dangie
On Moderation
Whatever the type of fuel, wherever we get it from, we have to get it here.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
I understand and your point is ---?
"Buying energy from a friendly country" is not a synonym for "energy independence".
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Again I agree. But a small amount of uranium goes a long way.
Drilling for oil and gas requires infrastructure - most of it imported - even (especially) the iron ore to make steel to ----- etc.
Solar - virtually all the materials are imported to make the panels
Wind Turbines - see above.
Batteries- dont get me started.
For the record I would never have shut down coal burning power stations.
We don't need all of what we had - as evidenced by the fact the lights haven't gone out.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Yet. But we are importing via the interconnections. So I respectfully disagree.
Which are also used to export, so the problem is lack of storage.
Besides, those interconnectors lead to some of those friendly countries your mentioned earlier.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Again, I don't disagree.
So by solving one problem, high carbon, we have created another one.
Coal, gas and nuclear is the way to go.
DarloRich
Veteran Member
not if we want to meet any form of carbon reduction targets............. ( I don't exclude keeping a reserve of coal/oil fired power stations as redundancy but they can no longer be anything close to the primary generator of electricity)
Happy to build more nuclear. We should have started 30 years ago mind!
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Absolutely!
Another problem which, frankly, is much less serious.
We're effectively using Norway and France as our storage.
I agree with nuclear, and am neutral on gas (good for peak shaving), but coal is definitely not the way to go.
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
I disagree. There are solutions tried and tested for high carbon, storage has been and continues to be more difficult to solve. So to say it is much less serious is in error in my opinion.
Which are?
GRALISTAIR
Established Member
Really. Seriously? The one which you have been advocating for and almost rudely on other threads. Please please don’t let me quote your own posts at you. You really can be disrespectful of other people at times. Grow some manners and respect.
With the losses of heavy industry and efficiency improvements despite more houses that may be so but the UK is not self-sufficient with a contingency. We are shipping in gas in addition to piplines from Norway etc. Biomass is shipped in too.
Looking ahead demand will increase with the move to electric / air-source central heating and electric cars.
I am not a fan of nuclear but it is the only way the UK could be self-sufficient.
As you say as the first generation nuclear plants became end-of-life new should have been built with a higher capacity. Hinkley Point C is still years from completion. Are any others actually being constructed?
Huh? Do you have me confused for someone else? What solution for high carbon emissions do you think I've been advocating for?
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