Coal in power stations to be phased out in the UK within 8-10 years

cells

http://www.worldcoal.com/power/18112015/The-impact-of-the-UK-coal-phase-out-3175/


Not a lot of joined up thinking.
Close down all the coal plants within 8-10 years
and build gas plants before you close the coal so the lights don't go out.
But no one wants to build the gas plants as the government is aiming to have them run for as few hours as possible with the gas only running when the subsidised wind/pv/nuclear/interconnectors are not running.

So what is the government to do? well it seems it needs to subsidise new gas plants too.

cells

http://www.worldcoal.com/special-reports/06112015/Britains-war-on-coal-the-fallout-3122/

importantly for the UK, a series of large and premature subcritical coal plant closures have been announced this year for early 2016, amounting to over 5300 MW of coal capacity.

Scotland’s only coal-fired power plant, at Longannet (2400 MW) will close in March 2016, followed by England’s Ferrybridge (1000 MW) and neighbouring Eggborough (1960 MW) plants. The generators have cited the CPF as being one of the main drivers behind their decisions. Though the plants were towards the end of their lives, many had been modernised with flue gas desulpherisation (FGD) technology and updated turbines. It had been hoped that some may have opted to further update their systems with NOX reduction technologies; they could then operate into the 2020s.

Suggests next winter will be the true test once the three large coal units close in March 2016

cells

Share price of drax (large coal/biomass public company) over the last two years.




Ouch, book value of £1.55Bil trading for ~0.9Bil

michaels

Don't worry Corbyn will have reopened the mines just in time for the last power station to close.

Marktheshark

The UK will be unable to make its own steel and unable to generate its own electricity.

At what point does such negligence become a matter of national security ?

michaels

Marktheshark wrote: »

The UK will be unable to make its own steel and unable to generate its own electricity.

At what point does such negligence become a matter of national security ?

It was when we stopped growing our own bananas that the rot set in....

Generali

michaels wrote: »

It was when we stopped growing our own bananas that the rot set in....

The mango export industry isn't what it was either.

Does nobody read Ricardo any more? We've known for the best part of 150 years that self-sufficiency is a pointless goal as trade increases living standards via comparative advantage yet I keep hearing how terrible it is that we don't make steel or watches or Champagne. It's a bit silly and quite innumerate.

ukcarper

Is it good to be relying on Russia for a large part of our energy.

CLAPTON

Generali wrote: »

The mango export industry isn't what it was either.

Does nobody read Ricardo any more? We've known for the best part of 150 years that self-sufficiency is a pointless goal as trade increases living standards via comparative advantage yet I keep hearing how terrible it is that we don't make steel or watches or Champagne. It's a bit silly and quite innumerate.

well, the answer is probably no, not many read him now as evidenced by the vast amount of support for the EU policies on restriction of trade, that not only make the people of the EU poorer but also keep many peoples in the third world in poverty and probably contribute to the flood of migrants to europe.

One wonders if we would really be content to (say)
-be totally dependent on say Russia for our energy needs whatever the price
or
-should be concerned about state sponsored 'dumping' that causes industries to fail that could otherwise compete
or
- if the vast capital inflows that fund our current standard of living will stop and the consequences when they do

must be a balance somewhere otherwise no economically literate person would support the EU.

Generali

CLAPTON wrote: »

well, the answer is probably no, not many read him now as evidenced by the vast amount of support for the EU policies on restriction of trade, that not only make the people of the EU poorer but also keep many peoples in the third world in poverty and probably contribute to the flood of migrants to europe.

One wonders if we would really be content to (say)
-be totally dependent on say Russia for our energy needs whatever the price
or
-should be concerned about state sponsored 'dumping' that causes industries to fail that could otherwise compete
or
- if the vast capital inflows that fund our current standard of living will stop and the consequences when they do

must be a balance somewhere otherwise no economically literate person would support the EU.

There is a clear advantage to being in a true (pretty much) single market and also an advantage to trading freely with all of the world rather than some of it.

I guess the problem is which confers the greater advantage.

Gains from trade are simple to understand but nebulous when you try to quantify them. Which is the greater number? I would guess being a member of a single market containing many of the great also-rans of the world's economy (UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy) but I don't think either of us are qualified to say with certainty.

CLAPTON

Generali wrote: »

There is a clear advantage to being in a true (pretty much) single market and also an advantage to trading freely with all of the world rather than some of it.

I guess the problem is which confers the greater advantage.

Gains from trade are simple to understand but nebulous when you try to quantify them. Which is the greater number? I would guess being a member of a single market containing many of the great also-rans of the world's economy (UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy) but I don't think either of us are qualified to say with certainty.

a very convincing argument for the already converted which ignores the tariff and non tariff barriers of the EU.
The damage it has done to poorer third world countries will probably never be known or quantified but one can speculates how free trade in the goods they produce would have helped their economies and general development and maybe produced more stable and democratic institutions.

The problems of security and anti dumping and our massive capital inflows will play for many years.