Britain's future power shortage could spill over on Ireland

[seanmacc]

I stand corrected. They've been treating the Irish sea like a chemical and radioactive toilet for more than a century and it has me quick to point the finger.

Incidentally, parts of WW1 and WW2 chemical weapons wash up on Antrim coasts on a daily basis as a result of the Beauford Dyke between Antrim and Scotland.

What has me worried is a future venture between BNFL and the ESB and some PPP consortium leaving us with a Nuclear timebomb in the west of Ireland.

[Ecoguy]

How will it do that without government subsidy? Nuclear is not economic.

How does France manage it?? - Indeed why are India or any other countries building loads of new power stations ATM.

[Ecoguy]

I stand corrected. They've been treating the Irish sea like a chemical and radioactive toilet for more than a century and it has me quick to point the finger.

Incidentally, parts of WW1 and WW2 chemical weapons wash up on Antrim coasts on a daily basis as a result of the Beauford Dyke between Antrim and Scotland.

What has me worried is a future venture between BNFL and the ESB and some PPP consortium leaving us with a Nuclear timebomb in the west of Ireland.

You great big Brit basher

[wombat]

New oil/gas pipelines like the Baltic interconnector and the Nambucco pipeline will bypass trouble spots and allow European consumers access to the vast gas/oil fields of the Caspian region as well as Siberia. There are also plans to pipe majour finds in North Africa directly into Europe. In any case it looks like Britain at least is going "nuclear"

Don't make the mistake of combining Oil & gas supplies, oil is far more useful and valuable. The present drop in oil prices is temporary, related to the recession, once demand recovers, prices will rise.

[joel]

I stand corrected. They've been treating the Irish sea like a chemical and radioactive toilet for more than a century and it has me quick to point the finger.

Incidentally, parts of WW1 and WW2 chemical weapons wash up on Antrim coasts on a daily basis as a result of the Beauford Dyke between Antrim and Scotland.

What has me worried is a future venture between BNFL and the ESB and some PPP consortium leaving us with a Nuclear timebomb in the west of Ireland.

Can see it - and you'll be paying for it for ever!

[joel]

How does France manage it?? - Indeed why are India or any other countries building loads of new power stations ATM.

Must be the government behind it - in fact, we know it is. Private firms couldn't stand the liabilities.

[Ecoguy]

Don't make the mistake of combining Oil & gas supplies, oil is far more useful and valuable. The present drop in oil prices is temporary, related to the recession, once demand recovers, prices will rise.

Obama appears determined to tackle the oil speculators who were responsible for the spike in prices last year which could have serious repercussions for oil producers and big oil companies. It was reported that companies like Exxon and BP are spitting blood over it according to a report on Bloomberg late last month.

[wombat]

Obama appears determined to tackle the oil speculators who were responsible for the spike in prices last year which could have serious repercussions for oil producers and big oil companies. It was reported that companies like Exxon and BP are spitting blood over it according to a report on Bloomberg late last month.

Much of last years rise was due to speculation but the fact remains that oil is becoming scarcer and more expensive to produce - the Tar sands are being developed on the basis that they will be profitable at higher prices.

[Heorditas]

Alarmist nonsense. The world is awash with oil and gas as evidenced by the collapse in price of both(particualry in gas). The price of oil is being kept artificially high by speculators and should be under $50(according to an expert on Bloomberg - indeed he said there could be a "devastating" glut with prices collapsing to $20 depending what happens with demand in the US over the next year, and most projections are for a continued increase in already overflowing stockpiles as demand remains extremely sluggish).

New oil/gas pipelines like the Baltic interconnector and the Nambucco pipeline will bypass trouble spots and allow European consumers access to the vast gas/oil fields of the Caspian region as well as Siberia. There are also plans to pipe majour finds in North Africa directly into Europe. In any case it looks like Britain at least is going "nuclear"

That's not a problem though. The main problem is the fact that the UK is decommissioning nuclear power plants and replacing them. It takes years to commission a nuclear power plant so there could be supply shortages while these new plants are being built.
The repercussions for Ireland could be serious. We could see the likes of Endesa who bought two of the ESB plants exporting power to the UK via the interconnectors - leading to a drop in supply to Ireland resulting in higher prices

[Ecoguy]

Much of last years rise was due to speculation but the fact remains that oil is becoming scarcer and more expensive to produce - the Tar sands are being developed on the basis that they will be profitable at higher prices.

I was reading recently that many of those projects have been moth-balled or shut down in the last year due to the collapse in energy prices