Keeping the lights on Documentary BBC4 - Interesting demise of coal produced electricity

[lchris21]

Anyone catch this on BBC4 this week??

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06q4z6j/power-to-the-people-1-keeping-the-lights-on

Documentary about the phasing out of some of the country's biggest coal fired power stations. Some interesting points and some worrying statistics.

Quote that stuck in my mind was the amount of coal reserves that are still under our feet with no-one left with the skills to get it out of the ground

Most if not all the "dirty" coal stations shut or massively reduced by 2025...........10 years which is not far away???

Always remember my parents having a stock of candles when I was growing up in the 70's. I might start importing them from the far east, and stock piling them for a future business venture

 

[piman]

Hello Ichris21,

relatively cheap and plentiful supply of fuel which produces reliable power. They say it's dirty but how bad is it really? Particularly in view that the CO2 cause of climate change is an unproven theory and projections are done using computer models that ignore many of the factors that control or affect our climate, a rather hasty and expensive decision was made to chase renewable sources of electrical generation and which are proven to have little effect on reducing CO2 emissions and are very expensive.
When I served my time in an old (then) coal fired station fifty years ago the stack emissions were monitored. I'm sure there will have been vast improvements in boiler efficiency since then? Too many expensive decisions have been made by people who are either ignorant or ill advised about the generation industry and it has cost us all dearly. (remember Mr Milliband going to take on the power suppliers, yet he made the legal commitment for the UK to push renewables which was a significant factor in electrical unit cost.

Alec

 

[slim_boy_fat]

people who are either ignorant or ill advised

Or....have vested interests

 

[lchris21]

Yep I have to agree, a few points made during the programme raised my eyebrows. Britain "leading the way" reducing its coal generation is a small speck of soot on Mrs Miggin's clean sheets compared to the industrial super powers.

I work in an ageing power station at the moment, fuelled with by-product waste gas and HFO boilers. I have mates who work at Aberthaw and its not looking good for it long term......

 

[rtbcomp]

It was fascinating. I don't think we've lost the know-how to get the coal out, it's just that we're not allowed to use it. In my opinion if it's there we ought to get it, either by digging or gasification underground,

Personally I'd like to see the old gasworks come back - coal is so much more than fuel, it's a valuable source of chemicals. Also the coke is used used in our steel works.

Pass me the whisky and a revolver.

http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/

PS - can we keep politics out of this thread please.

 

[lchris21]

What also makes me chuckle inside when I watch programmes like this is the constant banging on about reducing emissions in vehicles with the electric car brigade. Don't get me wrong, I've driven quite a few and they are great, but that electricity doesn't grow on trees...................or does it?? well some of it anyway

The amps/volts coming out of that charging station got a 300ft high stack as an exhaust pipe somewhere in the chain

 

[piman]

Hello Ichris21,

another case of left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. One part of the government wants to encourage electric vehicles and another part is struggling to generate enough electricity!

Alec

 

[penfold]

It was fascinating. I don't think we've lost the know-how to get the coal out, it's just that we're not allowed to use it. In my opinion if it's there we ought to get it, either by digging or gasification underground,

Personally I'd like to see the old gasworks come back - coal is so much more than fuel, it's a valuable source of chemicals. Also the coke is used used in our steel works.

Pass me the whisky and a revolver.

http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/

PS - can we keep politics out of this thread please.

I'd agree with this; coal is a pretty awful thing to burn for power, even with cyclone filters and electrostatic precipitators ~10% of the grot still comes out the lum and up your nose; heavy metals, NORM like thorium and uranium, dioxin etc. Much better to use it as a feedstock for chemicals.

 

[rtbcomp]

Hello Ichris21,

another case of left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. One part of the government wants to encourage electric vehicles and another part is struggling to generate enough electricity!

Alec

And if everyone charges an electric vehicle overnight, will this shift peak demand? No more Economy 7 so you won't be charging your car on cheap electricity.

 

[awemawson]

But if the 'Multi Fuel' station next to Ferrybridge can produce 'clean energy' SURELY there must be ways of burning coal cleanly as well, as the feed stock of rubbish for the Multi fuel contains masses of hydrocarbons in the plastic waste - how can that burn cleanly?

 

[mike os]

to be replaced with nice clean gas... that we now import..............

 

[rtbcomp]

I think sulphur is the biggest problem with coal. Burning rubbish to produce energy kills 2 birds with one stone so maybe any pollution caused is played down a bit.

I suspect VW may have written the control programs for these units.

 

[p0689109]

I did a course with the OU a few years ago about the alternatives available and on the drawing board of generating power. Waves, tides, the Seven Bore, gas, the sun, coal etc. Even then there were technologies proposed and proven to clean and capture the output of the coal stations to well within the limits required but the government was not interested. Another thing was that the coal imported to burn in the stations was crap compared to our own high class reserves but of course Maggie saw to it that that was a no goer to!

 

[brightspark]

it's a valuable source of chemicals. Also the coke is used used in our steel works.

Pass me the whisky and a revolver.

http://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/

PS - can we keep politics out of this thread please.

what steel works

MOD - fixed quotes

 

[wyn]

but of course Maggie saw to it that that was a no goer to!

290 mines closed when Harold Wilson was in power.
160 under Thatcher.

 

[rtbcomp]

Keeping politics out of it -

if there were, say, 450 mines and one PM closed 290 of them, then there would only be 160 left to close. Numbers mean nothing.

 

[DanielW]

A pic of a street in liverpool early 60's thats not fog but smog,cause of x amount of people dying with lung problems....apparently the smog was thousands of homes burning bad coal since victorian times up to the time they stopped using it as a fuel to heat up the home.

 

[brightspark]

A pic of a street in liverpool early 60's thats not fog but smog,cause of x amount of people dying with lung problems....apparently the smog was thousands of homes burning bad coal since victorian times up to the time they stopped using it as a fuel to heat up the home.

View attachment 74592

thats why they changed to smokeless fuel .coke ect

 

[DanielW]

thats why they changed to smokeless fuel .coke ect

When was this? and by the time it changed it was too late,the damage had already been done.

 

[brightspark]

When was this? and by the time it changed it was too late,the damage had already been done.

read on https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Air_Act_1956