The European Conservative, 17 June 2023
A return to coal was needed because turbines could not be relied upon this week due to depressed wind speeds.
The Conservative Party government is far down the road—and much out of pocket —with its plan to remove coal from Britain’s energy mix. But weather conditions earlier this week meant providers had no choice but to start burning coal again, for the first time in a month and a half.
Simply put, there wasn’t enough wind to allow for a good turbine output and it was too hot for solar panels to work efficiently. Some gas power plants were also shut down for maintenance. As a result, the National Grid had little choice but to ask a coal-fired power station in Nottingham to start producing electricity. This was due to be closed last September, but its owners reached a deal to push back the deadline by a year, citing the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
As part of its drive towards carbon ‘net zero,’ the Tory government announced in 2021 that Britain is moving towards producing no electricity using coal after October 2024. This was a year sooner than the original 2025 deadline, and begs the question: where will providers turn when it’s too hot and not windy enough in the future?
The push—by the party which prides itself on being “sensible” and “pragmatic”—has been met with many vocal critics, but the government appears not to have been fazed. Businessman and former Brexit party MEP Ben Habib said turning our backs on fossil fuels “before adequate alternative sources of ‘sustainable’ renewable energy are available” sounds “daft” because “it is.”
Reviewing some of the latest decisions on energy policy, Mr. Habib told The European Conservative:
“In the pursuit of a net zero country, His Majesty’s Government decided many years ago to cut back on filthy coal. Then in 2021, it began shutting down North Sea oil and gas under the North Sea Transition Deal—part of the then Prime Minister’s drive to “Build Back Better.” Under that deal, the off-shore extraction of fossil fuels was to be replaced by off-shore wind energy; wells closed, and jobs moved into green energy. Rough, our biggest natural gas storage facility, was also more or less shut down and now cannot easily be re-commissioned. To make matters worse, not a single nuclear power plant has been built in the UK since the mid-1990s. By 2030, 14 of 15 nuclear power plants are scheduled to have closed with only one replacement, Hinkley Point C, to be commissioned in 2027.
This is not an energy policy, it is energy hari kari.”
Tallbloke's Talkshop 
I actually hope that this winter is exceptionally cold and that the nation experiences catastrophic blackouts. Why? Because that is the only way people are going to wake up to what is in store for us if the Net Zero zealots get their way. The sooner the better, whilst we still have some hope of reversing this madness. If the nutters can keep the juggling balls in the air for another year or two, whilst closing down our remaining fossil fuel options, then they will have succeeded in destroying the country.
Nutty Zero is a load of vaporware not ever likely to come about while still keeping the lights on. Not one of these pols seems to be an engineer nor to have consulted with engineers about an actual plan with actual materials requirements and costs. The country would have to be literally covered in windmills and solar arrays to come near to working in lieu of real power. Where’s the plans and timeline for power storage at night and windless days?
This jackassary is a religious campaign with no thought to the real world all down to some Play Station computer models that have NEVER been correct.
Reblogged this on Climate Collections.
The people in power, who vote for the net zero subsidies, profit from the net zero subsidies, they gain riches and political power and strive to destroy all who disagree effectively.
I agree with Jaime. We’re due a cold winter anyway. I’ve laid in a stock of heating oil and firewood already. I’ve also bought a small old sidevalve Honda generator which could be pursuaded to run on the heating oil. Powercuts won’t keep me from telling those fools “I told you so” on the net.
The engineering crews and cranes have already arrived at the Drax power station in Yorkshire to dismantle two of the last remaining coal plants in the country.
Over the past decade, four of the facility’s six coal-fired units have been converted to run on wood chips with only two left that can burn coal.
Yet the end of coal combustion in Selby may now be delayed for the second year in a row, as the National Grid seeks to ensure that Britain’s lights stay on this winter.
On Thursday the Grid confirmed it is in talks with Drax about keeping the coal units going until April 2024, to provide an extra source of backup power for the country once again.
It is the latest example of how Vladimir Putin’s energy war continues to frustrate the UK’s attempts to ditch “King Coal”.
The “dirty” fuel was lambasted by Boris Johnson just two years ago at the Cop26 climate conference, with the Government vowing to phase it out completely by the end of 2024.
The promise has proved easier said than done, with the reality of the war in Ukraine colliding with best intentions.
In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Moscow has squeezed gas supplies to Europe, forcing countries including the UK to look to coal as a potential back-up option for generating electricity in the event of shortages.
Although Britain was never a large direct importer of Russian gas, it draws on gas piped from European storage tanks throughout the winter – making it vulnerable to supply shocks on the Continent.
The Drax power station is among several sites that have had their lifespans extended since Cop26, helping to shore up the nation’s power supply during times of stress.
One of the four coal-burning units at Uniper’s Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station, in Nottinghamshire, was originally scheduled to close in September 2022 but is now being kept on until September 2024.
Likewise, EDF’s West Burton A power station in Lincolnshire was meant to be retired last September but was kept on until April.
The Grid paid all three plants to remain on standby throughout last winter to provide backup electricity, giving bosses a “last resort” option to stave off potential blackouts.
In the event, they were warmed up on seven occasions but only used once, in early March, with the contingency costing the Grid – and ultimately bill-payers – about £400m.
However, coal has not just been called upon during winter. The Grid has also relied on the Ratcliffe plant to boost supplies this summer, leaning on the facility this week as temperatures soared and households turned up the aircon.
The potential for coal plants to come to the rescue again this winter is much smaller simply because facilities are shutting.
Despite pleas to hold off from Grant Shapps, the Energy Security Secretary, EDF is pressing ahead with the closure of West Burton A.
Meanwhile, one of Drax’s two remaining coal units in Selby is being dismantled and staff are set to retire, making it “unlikely but not impossible” the remaining one will return again, according to a source at the company.
The unit that was kept in reserve at Uniper’s Ratcliffe power station will now operate commercially, it was announced in January, making it unavailable as a contingency measure this winter.
Yet this all comes at a time when Britain’s electricity supplies are becoming progressively tighter.
An early forecast published by the National Grid on Thursday said there will be an estimated surplus of 4.8 gigawatts, or about 8pc of total capacity, during times of peak demand this winter.
However, that figure relies on Ratcliffe being operational and on Britain being able to depend on imports of electricity from Europe when it needs them most.
As with last winter, the Grid admits it cannot rule out the possibility of controlled blackouts in a worst-case scenario, where a cold snap causes a Europe-wide gas supply crunch.
Britain has much smaller reverses of natural gas than other European nations.
“All things being equal, the system is in good health,” says Jake Rigg, director of corporate affairs at National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO).
“But if any of those risks further materialise, for example if there was a shortfall of gas in Europe or in Britain, that could have significant impacts on the British energy system.
“The overarching message [is not] that we think that everything is fine. We are working on the basis that there is significant risk out there. And we are putting as many mitigations in place as we can.”
Kathryn Porter, an energy analyst and founder of consultancy Watt Logic, says losing both the Drax coal units and West Burton A will take about 2 gigawatts of generating capacity off the table at a time when the country can ill afford to do so.
In the coming years, other factors are also set to squeeze supplies, including the expected shutdowns of the Hartlepool and Heysham 1 nuclear power stations – which provide another 2 gigawatts combined – in 2026.
Their lifespans have already been extended and cannot be again.
“A really important question here is actually, what are we going to do next winter?”, says Porter.
“By law, all existing coal plants have to close next year, including Ratcliffe. So yes, you can try to secure the coal units again for this winter.
“But even if you manage that this winter, what happens next?”
Rather than shutting down the coal fired power stations the government should be building more of them and dumping the bird mincers. In fact there shouldn’t be any subsidies paid to any wind farms since they were only built for the subsidy payments.
That way the country would have reliable dis-patchable power at low prices rather than paying through the nose for unreliable renewable power and since the wind is free the subsidy farmers should be paying the population to use the power they ‘generate’.
Britain has much smaller reserves of natural gas than other European nations.
“All things being equal, the system is in good health,” says Jake Rigg, director of corporate affairs at National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO).
“But if any of those risks further materialise, for example if there was a shortfall of gas in Europe or in Britain, that could have significant impacts on the British energy system.
“The overarching message [is not] that we think that everything is fine. We are working on the basis that there is significant risk out there. And we are putting as many mitigations in place as we can.”
Kathryn Porter, an energy analyst and founder of consultancy Watt Logic, says losing both the Drax coal units and West Burton A will take about 2 gigawatts of generating capacity off the table at a time when the country can ill afford to do so.
In the coming years, other factors are also set to squeeze supplies, including the expected shutdowns of the Hartlepool and Heysham 1 nuclear power stations – which provide another 2 gigawatts combined – in 2026.
Their lifespans have already been extended and cannot be again.
“A really important question here is actually, what are we going to do next winter?”, says Porter.
“By law, all existing coal plants have to close next year, including Ratcliffe. So yes, you can try to secure the coal units again for this winter.
“But even if you manage that this winter, what happens next?”
‘By law, coal fired power station must all close in 2024.’ Who makes the laws? Politicians. They can change the law any time they want, but they won’t, when it doesn’t suit them to do so. They could choose to scrap the Climate Change Act 2008 and put an end to this nonsense once and for all, but that won’t happen because they have too much invested in the Green Agenda to let go of it now.
On other issues, but equally pertinent here, on this Morning’s Radio Highlands( & Islands) news, a Huntly Farmer discussing Gov. payments for farmers, re the Environment etc., he made the very good simple point which applies not only to the small farmers, but the Nation populace as a whole: if we are in the RED, we cannot go Green! ……
“Who makes the laws? Politicians.”
Not any more I’m afraid, Jamie.
The “laws” are made by the unutterably vile Davos brigade so beloved of the likes of “Sir” Kneeler of Rotherham and the spiv Fishy Rishy and enforced by the hordes of nameless Snivel Serpents.
Time for a change, I really must check Screwfix for piano wire and meathook prices…