tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post6622217769771603356..comments2024-03-27T18:54:46.951+00:00Comments on Syniadau :: The Blog: The Celtic Array ... or Wylfa B?Syniadauhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13876017048168055247noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-43272778367676334422012-04-01T20:47:06.165+01:002012-04-01T20:47:06.165+01:00Cibwr, I was just trying to amplify the point you ...Cibwr, I was just trying to amplify the point you were making, not disagree with it. Sorry if what I said didn't come across that way.MHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09329059309196746446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-58776106127956822652012-04-01T18:59:06.990+01:002012-04-01T18:59:06.990+01:00My comments were rhetorical.... compared to nuclea...My comments were rhetorical.... compared to nuclear wind and alternative energy is benign and the cost of removing it trivial.Cibwrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621705905770341542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-75349024685955292242012-04-01T14:34:39.172+01:002012-04-01T14:34:39.172+01:00To MT. Yes, it is quite sad to see Ieuan continue...To MT. Yes, it is quite sad to see Ieuan continue with the same fixation. Surely if anything would have brought him to his senses, it would be this news. He could have said something like: "Yes, it will be very disappointing for those who were expecting nuclear jobs to be come to Ynys Môn. But plenty of other jobs are going to come to the island if we concentrate as much on securing local jobs from the Celtic Array development as we did for Wylfa B." That would be proactive, forward looking and positive.<br /><br />What's worse is that the BBC and others have chosen to use Ieuan as the "voice of Plaid Cymru" when it reports the reaction of various political parties and other groups. Plaid is at fault for not making its own position on the issue clear enough. The statement from Alun Ffred (our spokesman on energy) was fair enough, but it wasn't anywhere near positive enough about the alternatives. Leanne did far better on Tuesday's FMQ's, as reported <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-17528149" rel="nofollow">here</a>: <br /><br /><i>At the final question time before the Easter recess, Mr Jones clashed with Plaid Cymru leader Leanne Wood over nuclear power. He said the Welsh government supported a new nuclear power station at Wylfa on Anglesey, saying it would create 600 jobs.</i><br /><br /><i>Ms Wood said: "We do need jobs in the north west of Wales but I would argue that jobs in the renewable sector are the ones that we should be pursuing." The renewable energy industry was "crying out for more clarity and direction" from the Welsh government, she said.</i><br /><br />This was <b>before</b> the news broke. I'm glad we elected such a prescient leader, but I do think she needs to say more on this. I hope this post will have provided her with some more ammunition. <br /><br />-<br /><br />To Mabon. Yes, decommissioning Wylfa will provide jobs not just for twenty years but for decade. We currently have hundreds of people working to decommission and make Trawsfynnydd safe. But it certainly won't take twenty years for the Celtic Array to happen. Construction work will have started within four or five years. <br /><br />-<br /><br />To Anon 16:28 and Ramblings. I do agree that there is a weakness in looking to mega-projects as the solution. But the Celtic Array is a mega-project too ... it's just a better mega-project. There's plenty of opportunity for small scale solutions, but we do need some large scale solutions as well. <br /><br />One thing we must bear in mind is that although Gwynt y Môr and the Celtic and Atlantic Arrays will produce plenty of electricity, we are placing an awful lot of reliance on wind. I hesitate to say too much reliance because Wales has neighbours on both sides to which we can export this energy, but we really must have a more balanced solution than relying so heavily on wind. We are close to putting too many eggs in one basket with wind. Tidal energy (both range and flow) is crying out to be developed and it is a gross dereliction on the part of successive Welsh governments not to have been more proactive in developing this. The second thing we need to do is look at enhancing our hydro potential, particularly to use the hydro capacity we have in a different way so that it can act to balance the fluctuations in wind and other intermittents in the same way as Norway and Sweden's hydro does for Danish wind. Some of my thought on this are in the comments on <a href="http://glyn-davies.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/its-economy-stupid.html" rel="nofollow">this post</a> of Glyn Davies' blog last year.MHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09329059309196746446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-47855287969917731952012-04-01T14:32:38.095+01:002012-04-01T14:32:38.095+01:00Sorry that's it's taken a while for me to ...Sorry that's it's taken a while for me to respond to the comments. <br /><br />To Lyndon, I would only say that even if you used a capacity factor of 25% the Celtic Array will <b>still</b> produce more electricity than the old Wylfa did when running flat out. If the idea is to replace existing capacity, the Celtic Array more than does it. <br /><br />-<br /><br />To Cibwr. At the end of its working life, a wind turbine will have a positive value. Nearly all the parts will have a value for scrap or recycling (though the most likely scenario is that the nacelles and blades might be replaced in say twenty year's time, but without needing to replace the towers). Once a nuclear site has reached the end of its working life it has a huge negative value. It becomes an unproductive liability that will cost money to clean up and keep safe for centuries to come. More so in the case of the currently planned reactors because the waste will be more dangerous and it will have to be stored on site rather the taken away for reprocessing, as is the case with the current Wylfa. And what terrorists are ever going to target a wind turbine? <br /><br />-<br /><br />To Anon 16:03. The SNP are spot on. Interestingly they point to E.ON continuing with renewables, whereas I pointed to RWE npower doing the same. So both partners in Horizon have realized that they have better things to do with their money.MHhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09329059309196746446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-92201868754546914042012-04-01T13:45:33.900+01:002012-04-01T13:45:33.900+01:00Beware the dangers of putting all your eggs in one...Beware the dangers of putting all your eggs in one basket.<br /><br />Wylfa B became the talisman for job creation in the north just as the calamitous St Athan college did in the south. We cannot depend on these huge projects, they are unreliable and largely out of our hands.Welsh Ramblingshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17585109264200933570noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-36129021094790891392012-03-31T16:28:45.105+01:002012-03-31T16:28:45.105+01:00While Labour in Wales persist with the failed poil...While Labour in Wales persist with the failed poilitics of dependency, delusionally hoping against all evidence that some kind of Whitehall-inspired mega-project (unfundable, unsustainable, backward-looking and centralist - military acadamies, new nukes, weapons of mass destruction etc), Scotland is surging ahead in building a future-orientated sustainable economy in the here and now and creating thousands of real joas in the process:<br /><br />www.jonathonporritt.com/blog/renewable-energy-scotlandAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-90076424221139854472012-03-30T22:35:13.199+01:002012-03-30T22:35:13.199+01:00But Dafydd and others only think in the short term...But Dafydd and others only think in the short term (perennial problem in politics).<br /><br />Even if it did take twenty years then fine, that fits an ideal timescale.<br /><br />They could de-commission Y Wylfa, which would employ more people and take up to twenty years. By then the Round 3 Irish Sea Zone would be in play. Win Win surely.Mabonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-17127615960184788802012-03-30T20:30:24.609+01:002012-03-30T20:30:24.609+01:00Did I read on the BBC that Ieuan Wyn Jones intends...Did I read on the BBC that Ieuan Wyn Jones intends to do his best to see that Wylfa B is built?<br /><br />http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-north-west-wales-17552607maen_tramgwyddnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-60723157821974443382012-03-30T18:03:18.274+01:002012-03-30T18:03:18.274+01:00This from the SNP:
Reacting to news that E.on and...This from the <a href="http://www.snp.org/media-centre/news/2012/mar/energy-giants-abandon-nuclear-renewables" rel="nofollow">SNP</a>:<br /><br />Reacting to news that E.on and RWE are to pull out of nuclear power in the UK, SNP Westminster Energy and Climate Change spokesperson Mike Weir MP said the situation demonstrated the fallacy of UK Government’s energy policy.<br /><br />Mr Weir said:<br /><br />“Despite the UK government bending over backwards to rig the market in favour of nuclear power the decision by these companies to pull out shows at nuclear power is simply not the answer to our energy needs.<br /><br />“It is noteworthy that E.on has decided instead to invest heavily in new offshore renewable energy. That eloquently demonstrates that the future lies in renewable energy to provide a clean green future and true energy security.<br /><br />“The SNP Scottish Government has led the way by rejecting nuclear and setting a 100 per cent renewable target for Scotland's own electricity use. The UK government should now follow this lead and abandon plans for expensive and unsustainable nuclear expansion.<br /><br />“It would be a massive betrayal if instead they were to throw yet more money at the last companies prepared to pursue nuclear expansion.”Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-84951904254581876082012-03-29T20:23:11.701+01:002012-03-29T20:23:11.701+01:00What is the cost of decommissioning a wind turbine...What is the cost of decommissioning a wind turbine, what are its waste products and how much does it cost to store them? Now compare it to the cost of decommissioning a nuclear power station and the cost of storage its waste products.Cibwrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07621705905770341542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-985080357558043054.post-83640730303555426942012-03-29T19:31:26.355+01:002012-03-29T19:31:26.355+01:00Which one would need the biggest subsidy I wonder?...Which one would need the biggest subsidy I wonder? I know which my money is on........<br /><br />I don't think a 35% capacity factor for offshore wind is very conservative, by the way. More like bordering on the optimistic. A new nuclear station should have a capacity factor of around 90%Lyndonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02225999704347903995noreply@blogger.com