Rising East Online

Where is east London’s energy to come from in future? Nuclear, sun, wind, tidal, coal?

—Andrew Stobart

At breakfast in late July, my wife raised the subject of the Government’s Energy Review with the comment “It’s just the Government buttering it’s own bread, Nuclear Energy is wasteful – Dad often said (her late father Eric Colbeck invented the boron steel for control rods that has made the whole Nuclear industry feasible) that Nuclear had only two uses, to make a loud noise or boil water, and doing the latter wastes about two thirds of the pile’s heat to keep the birds warm”!!! (And contribute to Global Warming?)

Whereas (and here I must admit to partiality as a descendant of several generations of coal miners, who sank and ran what became the oldest working pit in the world – Guinness book of Records – Wearmouth Pit in Co.Durham) clean coal technology in CHP units close to railways and built up areas would use our own energy supplies, be much more thermally efficient, and provide employment. In the late 50’s I was in a works using CHP (75%+ thermal efficiency) and abstracting some CO₂ from the stack for aspirin production. Also using Ammonia Absorption (see www.guha.biz for instance) cold can be produced and distributed instead of heat during hot summers.

One might also use coal, in conjunction with Hydrogen produced by offshore wind to produce motor fuels. And possibly revive the “gasworks” industry in a modern guise? Coal from the Durham coalfields has been supplied to London for many centuries, and could be again, with the CO₂ produced piped to under the North Sea for safe storage. All this and the other items below could make a very viable future industrial base for East London?

BUT

1. Many MPs and Civil Servants, while “learned in the law” are scientific analphabets, who do not appreciate the possibilities for communities like East London to produce their own energy supplies.
2. Concentrating on wind and Nuclear and “distributed” electricity is in line with Lenin’s comment “Communism is all about electricity – centrally generated”. And of course maintains the Treasury’s “hand on the switch”, to ensure continued revenue from taxes on energy.
   Nuclear and Wind, being often remote from users, have a further waste in transmission losses, more heat for the environment
3. Electricity Distribution Systems can be closed down without the use of explosives, an example was during the recent fighting in the Balkans, I have known for over 30 years how to “close down London” one dark night. Luckily terrorists are long on explosive technology and short on mechanical ditto.
4. Wind Energy Farms, based on mechanical principles old when Nicholas rented the windmill in E.Yorks from the Knights Templars in 1185, is using a less than efficient technology – especially offshore. Short paper available on this I question the present economics here.
5. Inshore Tidal Power (ponds which can double as coastal erosion protection barriers along the low lying land of the Thames Estuary) and inlets/estuaries is the most reliable and predictable source of Renewable Energy. Some Hydro technologies are available to direct drive heat pumps
   (Note, 95% of Swedish Homes have a Heat Pump vast potential here to save gas and oil for home heating? The “mini CHP” units now available could be the motive power to “multiply” the heat supplied by their fuel?)
6. Municipal CHP is a MUST, see www.woking.gov.uk for their unit, and www.greenfinch.co.uk for the Ludlow Food Waste Digester CHP unit. Every source of biodigestable waste should be harnessed for this, including all sewage works not yet fitted with sewage gas collection.
7. Micro hydro inland, probably most useful for agriculture, there is a technology to use electricity so generated to “fertilise” crops without the use of chemicals. Can be used to direct drive Heat Pumps, abstracting heat from the water.
8. Bio fuels, work is on going here, vast opportunities for UK agriculture? Hydrogen powered cars are already available
9. Solar Energy, a DIY design for a Solar Water Heater is available using scrap pipe, wooden planks, and aluminium kitchen foil. For Solar Electricity the potential seems both enormous and untapped:-

The present UK Government reported in Feb 1998 (Lord Clinton-Davis House of Lords Statement) that the overall UK estimated electricity generation potential from Solar is 70,000 to 110,000 MW, equivalent to between 64 and 100 Nuclear Units of 1100 MW each.

Comment from the USA. If you figure a 50 year life span, which is reasonable, then a 100 watt panel at $400 ($4/watt) in NY generates electric at about $0.11/kWh, less than grid price here ($0.15). Cut that cost in half for California.

• Calculation method for Solar PV installations (Yahoo Group membership required);
• German Solar PV Programme;
• Latest USA manufacturing plant being erected for cheaper Solar PV who seem to be saying that they will be producing cells wholesaling at around $1.00/watt?;
• Work in Italy aims at reducing the cost still further are predicting $0.40/watt, and a plant is starting up in S Wales on this technology.

Andrew Stobart

A Ferrand Stobart & Associates,
Secretary Grünhaus Project,
Bower Orchard, Orleton,
Ludlow SY8 4HU
01 568 780837
www.grunweb.org.uk

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