Future of the Australian Electricity Market

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by woodPixel

Saline Water-Based Mineralization Pathway for Gigatonne-Scale CO2 Management

Another one for the cynics here! Ill convert you grumpy curmudgeons yet! :)

This one reacts the huge quanta of CO2 in water (rather than the 400ppm in air) into various Interesting Minerals.

Water has 50x more CO2 in it than air. This method can process 10Gt per year of the whopping 37Gt we emit (!!!!)

An interesting read.

a thought - IF there were a price on CO2 emission these types of projects would be worth a fortune.

Attachment 511885

---

Interesting indeed, although the finer details of the chemistry involved lost me completely!
The scaling up into a practical process is the key and the sort of numbers involved are pretty staggering:

Processing 10Gt of CO2 would result in "....the production of over 20 Gt of solids annually.." and "...landfill disposal of 10 Gt of carbonate solids will require about 6.8 km3 (6.8 billion m3) of space per year..."

Which begs the question of how big would the processing plant(s) have to be and at what cost, not to mention the additional costs of the disposal of these solids!

Theoretically feasible but, on the basis of the numbers used, unachievable. Back to the drawing board methinks!

Cheers
Yvan

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by yvan

Interesting indeed, although the finer details of the chemistry involved lost me completely!
The scaling up into a practical process is the key and the sort of numbers involved are pretty staggering:

Processing 10Gt of CO2 would result in "....the production of over 20 Gt of solids annually.." and "...landfill disposal of 10 Gt of carbonate solids will require about 6.8 km3 (6.8 billion m3) of space per year..."

Which begs the question of how big would the processing plant(s) have to be and at what cost, not to mention the additional costs of the disposal of these solids!

Theoretically feasible but, on the basis of the numbers used, unachievable. Back to the drawing board methinks!

---

This is pretty real, isn't it.

The numbers boggle ones mind.

It solidifies to me the absolute horror we have created. It may get to a point where we have NO CHOICE but to start driving these extreme solutions to fruition.

I saved the paper so I can give it a good read. It felt extremely important.

If 10Gt of CO2 makes 6.8m3 of carbonite, then we need to multiply this by FOUR (rounding it).

That is ~27 cubic KILOMETERS of CO2 we are thumping into the atmosphere every year and have done so for many years. YIKESSSSS!!!!

I don't think, on first read, that disposing of carbonite in the ocean is a problem. Seashells and the White Cliffs of England are a good example of mass carbonite. I don't believe it causes any harm... the article states (I think) that the lowering of acidification caused by the CO2 in the water is a zillion times more important.


I'm very concerned by what humans have done to the planet. I think, as woodworkers, that we see and know that we must live in balanced harmony, otherwise we get The Lorax.

What is this carbonite that you talk about, woodPixel? Wikipedia is not helpful:
Carbonite - Wikipedia

If I remember my schoolboy chemistry properly, the white cliffs of Dover and sea shells are both composed of calcium carbonate, as is limestone and marble, as favoured by Michaelangelo. As far as I know, limestone is not a problem in the oceans but carbon dioxide certainly is. CO2 disolved in water forms carbonic acid which attacks calcium carbonate. It is already harming shellfish and crustaceons:
Covering Ocean Acidification: Chemistry and Considerations >> Yale Climate Connections

Carbonite! Haha! silly me, thats Star Wars and what Han Solo was encased in :)

Carbonate! :)

Yes carbonate :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by woodPixel

This is pretty real, isn't it.

The numbers boggle ones mind.

It solidifies to me the absolute horror we have created. It may get to a point where we have NO CHOICE but to start driving these extreme solutions to fruition.

I saved the paper so I can give it a good read. It felt extremely important.

If 10Gt of CO2 makes 6.8m3 of carbonite, then we need to multiply this by FOUR (rounding it)..

---

What is the "m"

If it's metres then . . . . . .

10Gt/6.8m^3 has a density of about 1 Gt/m^3 OR 1 Tkg/m^3, which is a about a million time more than the supposed density of the back hole in the centre of our galaxy.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by BobL

What is the "m"

If it's metres then . . . . . .

10Gt/6.8m^3 has a density of about 1 Gt/m^3 OR 1 Tkg/m^3, which is a about a million time more than the supposed density of the back hole in the centre of our galaxy.

---

Bob

looking back at Yvan's original post (#601) it looks as though we have not found a substance heavier than Gidgee and can attribute it to a typo: It should read 6.8Km³. Does that make it a bit less dense?

Regards
Paul

m is the international standard symbol for Mystery.

Its an arbitrary volume, describing mindboggling volumes outside the ken of peons, very similar in usage to the more commonly known Australian measurement of "Fuk Ton".

:)

Yes, Km :)

Andrew "twiggy" Forrest has come out and said,

" Mr Forrest said the fossil fuel industry has highly effective campaigns to promote hydrogen made by burning coal and gas as clean, when “it is in fact highly polluting and therefore dangerous to humanity”.“The fossil fuel industry must stop greenwashing,” he said.
He was concerned research released this week shows four out of five Australians do not realise “clean hydrogen” spruiked by the industry, and as defined by the federal government, can be made from fossil fuels and contentious carbon capture and storage technology. "

It pretty well sums up the state of the nation in their understanding of H2's place in the energy mix (subscribers to this thread excepted) and is part of an address he made in Barcelona (I don't know why he had to go there to speak) and you can see more here.

Forrest flays fossil fuel ‘greenwashing’ (msn.com)

Regards
Paul

Mr. Forrest finally said what is widely known, rarely discussed though used for political purposes by a floundering industry and politicians. The UK is attempting to make Hydrogen a main stream source of energy as I pointed out above but how I have not looked at the production methods.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Andrew "twiggy" Forrest has come out and said,

" Mr Forrest said the fossil fuel industry has highly effective campaigns to promote hydrogen made by burning coal and gas as clean, when “it is in fact highly polluting and therefore dangerous to humanity”.“The fossil fuel industry must stop greenwashing,” he said.
He was concerned research released this week shows four out of five Australians do not realise “clean hydrogen” spruiked by the industry, and as defined by the federal government, can be made from fossil fuels and contentious carbon capture and storage technology. "

It pretty well sums up the state of the nation in their understanding of H2's place in the energy mix (subscribers to this thread excepted)

---

To quote a Monty Python.... "Say no more, say no more!"

Off to vote... say no more, say no more... :rolleyes:

Over the course of the last few months several regular posters to this thread have noted how the spot price has been steadily increasing. Only a percentage of the available power is sold on the spot market as much of it is under contract. The purpose of contracts are to safeguard against spikes in price and to provide stability for pricing. However, at some point the contracts come up for renewal and the spot market will provide indication of where prices are going. I turned up this article today, which seems to indicate the outgoing government held off on the bad news ofelectricity prices about to rise because of the election. Previous spruiking of lower market prices would have floundered.

Coalition delayed news that electricity prices are set to rise until after federal election (msn.com)

Regular readers of this thread will not be as surprised by the forecast as many others. It really needs the incoming government to knuckledown on this issue as a matter of extreme priority.

Regards
Paul

I noticed the headline increase in the Victorian default offer is '5%'. However the fine print suggests ausnet customers can look forward to a 10% rise, and another distributor only 1%.
Hard to understand how that is driven by the wholesale prices.
(and yes, i am an ausnet customer, struggling to understand why my prices should be so much higher than a customer only a few ks away...)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by russ57

I noticed the headline increase in the Victorian default offer is '5%'. However the fine print suggests ausnet customers can look forward to a 10% rise, and another distributor only 1%.
Hard to understand how that is driven by the wholesale prices.
(and yes, i am an ausnet customer, struggling to understand why my prices should be so much higher than a customer only a few ks away...)

---

Russ

I am not familiar with this side of the market and where I live in country Queensland there is a choice of one retailler only. What I would suggest is that in your case the retaillers in question have contracts spanning widely different time spans. If your supplier (ausnet) had only just re-negotiated it may well be quite elevated compared to somebody else as that contract will be at a price a good deal higher than it was twelve months ago for example. However, this is just conjecture by me. I don't know how easily you can chop and changesuppliers down there in VIC.

Regards
Paul

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by russ57

I noticed the headline increase in the Victorian default offer is '5%'. However the fine print suggests ausnet customers can look forward to a 10% rise, and another distributor only 1%.
Hard to understand how that is driven by the wholesale prices.
(and yes, i am an ausnet customer, struggling to understand why my prices should be so much higher than a customer only a few ks away...)

---

Consumers tend to think of pricing in terms of cost plus.

Marketers think in terms of what the market will bear.

Ausnet is the distributor.. As i understand it, any retailer can offer to any customer, regardless of the distributor, and they pay the distribution network charges.
The default offers seem to take account of the differing distribution costs.
Gold plated network was a phrase thrown around for a while. Unfortunately we don't get gold plated service. Received $90 rebate so far this calendar year for unplanned outages. (and i live in the suburbs of Melbourne not sone remote community...)

Just continuing with the state of the market following the election I saw this today

"Incoming Energy Minister Chris Bowen blamed “nine years of Liberal denial and cost” for rising costs.
“There are international factors at play here … but the lack of energy policy, the lack of investment in new energy, the lack of investment in renewable energy, and the lack of transmission over the last nine years means that Australians are paying more for electricity than they should be.”
Mr Bowen said the introduction of more renewable energy under the Albanese government would put downward pressure on prices.
Greens leader Adam Bandt said Labor needed to rethink its pledge not to fast-track the closure of coal-fired power.
“That’s a problem because it’s pushing up power prices,” he said "

Full article here

I don't think that quite depicts the situation although there are elements of truth woven in there somewhere. By all means fast track the closure of coal-fired power providing you have the ability to provide a replacement. Bandt and Bowen are incorrect when they say the non-closure of stations and the lack of more renewable energy are pushing up power prices.

My own take is that several factors have come into play. One that is not much talked about is the effect the wet weather is having on coal-fired stations. Open-cut mines are particularly susceptible to rain events and stations without significant stock piles as a back up reserve will be struggling to keep up supply as the mining eqipment cannot get into the pits. On occasions during heavy rain events the coal cannot travel up the conveyoys into the silos as it slips back down the belts. That is not normally a long term issue, but can be accute for short periods. Unusually long and protracted cloud cover has had an adverse effect on solar generation in recent times and I suspect that gas prices have risen because more money can be recovered through exports. There is a good chance that hydro generation has been better placed of late, but that has not beeen sufficient to entirely compensate.

Regards
Paul

I am gald that I am not a minister of energy trying to conjure a coherent policy in such a difficult environment. Essentially there are three sources of electricity:

Dirty fossil fuels - black coal, brown coal and gas.

Reliable green energy - aka hydro - but supply is limitted by existing dams and difficulties in building more.

Intermittent green energy - aka wind and solar - and it will remain that way until there is significant gains in battery technology or other ways to store energy that is cost effective.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Greens leader Adam Bandt said Labor needed to rethink its pledge not to fast-track the closure of coal-fired power.

---

I actually hope they don't pick up the 76th seat because minority Govt means greater scrutiny, and they have done it very successfully before with this PM when he was Leader of the House (who is the chief negotiator with other parties). It also means they will be pushed into higher reduction targets, and probably a much bigger re-think of electricity production.

One thing that occurs to me is that as the PM is an excellent strategist, and they could well have gone to this election with smaller targets so as not to spook an already spooked electorate, knowing that there was every chance they could be a minority Govt and would therefore have to agree to higher targets (very willingly, I might add).
Greens + Teals: "We want bigger emissions reduction targets and a complete rethink of the Electricity Industry".
Govt: "OK, no wuckas."

That gives them a neat political out for those who want to moan and deny. "They forced us into it, we had no choice but to comply." (However, I think the deniers are a rapidly shrinking minority these days, and are likely to be somewhat voiceless in the coming years as the weather and climate become self-evidently worse.)

It has to be said that it would be a delicious piece of finessing from the new Govt, if it were the case.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

That gives them a neat political out for those who want to moan and deny. "They forced us into it, we had no choice but to comply."

It has to be said that it would be a delicious piece of finessing from the new Govt, if it were the case.

---

A little bird told me this was exactly their strategy.

If they meet their target earlier, or exceed it massively, or get it done by next year.... ooops. (err, yay!).

I feel hopeful for the new government.

FF, I agree on the minority aspect. Everyone that has discussed it with me seems to have the same thoughts. Majority governments don't produce the best result for all.

While it looks likely Labour will achieve their lower house majority, they won't enjoy the same status in the Senate so their actual majority will become academic. Poor legislation won't make it through.

Regards
Paul

Here is one uniquely Australian benefit to solar generation :)

Solar farm trial shows improved fleece on merino sheep grazed under panels - ABC News

Quote:

---

"It is actually quite astonishing. Some of the sheep look fantastic. They're growing exponentially and the wool cuts are in the top 5 per cent in the district."

---

Quote:

---

Mr Warren said the carrying capacity of the land had also increased by about 25 per cent.

During the drought, water condensed on the solar panels in the mornings. The trickling of the water to the grass below keep strips of pasture green.

---

Attachment 512442

My provider contacted me today and advised me to switch to somebody else. From what I can gather, they are unprotected from wholesale pricing changes that are flowing through, and their rates will need to increase significantly shortly. They recently raised their rates 27%, but it's clear they are unsustainable. I can only assume that they are losing money on every kWh they are selling. Why else tell people to move to another provider? Bizarre. I've switched to a bigger retailer on fixed pricing for 12 months.

This entire system is so frustrating. The energymadeeasy government website said there were over 700 offers I could look at. That's insane. Nobody has time to do that kind of analysis, and the country doesn't need that level of "choice". All of that cost in retailing and marketing what is an essential commodity.

ajw

AJW, this may answer your question....

Energy retailer tells more than 70,000 customers to go elsewhere or face doubling of prices | Energy | The Guardian

Well after being quoted $6000+ to install a builders pole (with 1 x single phase/+ 1 x 3 phase socket only)
I am going to purchase a container home and go off grid :q
I live in an area where sunshine is king
Not many rainy days in Chillagoe lol
I have gas for cooking...this services my needs adequately
Also have a decent generator at the ready
Solar will probably suit and serve me well
That said I am not a big consumer of electricity at the best of times...I am quite conservative in that respect
Log Dog :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Log Dog

Well after being quoted $6000+ to install a builders pole (with 1 x single phase/+ 1 x 3 phase socket only)
I am going to purchase a container home and go off grid :q
I live in an area where sunshine is king
Not many rainy days in Chillagoe lol
I have gas for cooking...this services my needs adequately
Also have a decent generator at the ready
Solar will probably suit and serve me well
That said I am not a big consumer of electricity at the best of times...I am quite conservative in that respect
Log Dog :)

---

Log Dog

If serious, look at tiny houses too, which can be one and the same thing, but not always. My sister has just put two tiny houses on her block. Our ex postmaster used to be a ranger at Chillagoe and it was on his recommendation that we visited the caves: Amazing. I guess you know to watch out for the salties.

Regards
Paul

I had wondered when the subject of gas in the home was going to rear it's ugly head and it looks as though people are waking up. The issue occured to me in the last year as we have been looking at a new kitchen to replace our state of the art 1940s kitchen, which SWMBO maintains is really a Claytons kitchen. She is equally dismayed that the kitchen has not yet happened.

Anyhow we were looking at a new gas stove, which I reluctantly pointed out will contribute to carbon emissions and one day will probably be obsolete or banned or both. So we have had to reconsider. gas has always been so much better to for cooking: Not really cheaper mind, but more controllable. No commercial kitchen used anything but gas and commercial stoves were of course gas, but it looks as though will have to revisit this issue. perhaps the induction tops will replicate the controllability of gas. Either way, I was promopted to mention this because of this article:

Not cooking with gas: Councils want to ban gas connections in new developments (msn.com)

For the moment we will continue with the stove we have which has gas for the plates and electricity for the oven: A new stove looks as though it will be electric.

Regards
Paul

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Log Dog

If serious, look at tiny houses too, which can be one and the same thing, but not always. My sister has just put two tiny houses on her block. Our ex postmaster used to be a ranger at Chillagoe and it was on his recommendation that we visited the caves: Amazing. I guess you know to watch out for the salties.

Regards
Paul

---

Actually Paul there are a couple of resident freshwater crocs in Chillagoe Creek...only a few streets away from where I live.
Yes the caves are amazing
The geological formations in the area are quite fascinating
National parks essentially surround the town
Log Dog :)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

... The issue occured to me in the last year as we have been looking at a new kitchen to replace our state of the art 1940s kitchen, which SWMBO maintains is really a Claytons kitchen. ...

---

We went through that debate for almost 20 years, before we totally rebuilt the kitchen about 10 years ago. In retrospect, I got most things right. Subsequently, I went back to uni and did a fine arts degree majoring in design, which largely confirms my analysis.

It might be worth starting a dedicated thread - Paul's New Kitchen - rather than hijacking this one. With kitchen design, the devil is in the detail.

Cooktops do not use much gas so bottled gas is fine; we later converted to town gas and put in a gas heater - this was a mistake as the price of gas gas more than doubled. A small percentage of commercial kitchens now use induction - this is the only alternative to gas.

I'm currently on a "variable" plan with Origin.

The variable plan allows them to change the price once during the term of the contract (12 months). It also allows me to switch to another plan, or leave, without penalty.

What are peoples thoughts as to the REALITY of consumer prices going up? I've seen the recent posts above (of course!) and the futures pricing of energy.... word seems to be that prices are going to be going up, quickly.

Are others here locking in their consumer (home) usage?



The rates on the left are fixed rate, the right is my current variable plan.

Attachment 512530

its funny when you look at gas in NSW.

its just so happens the origin energy... who want to shut down 2800MW of coal power in lake Macquarie... are also a major gas supplier.

I wonder if taking a bunch of electricity out of the grid and driving prices up may make people look at gas as an alternative, and where would they get the gas from.... Origin

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

... perhaps the induction tops will replicate the controllability of gas.

---

We went with an induction cooktop over twenty years ago and my wife would now have nothing else. She had us remove a new gas hob and replace it with an induction cooktop when we moved into our current house fifteen years ago. Happy wife, happy life!

In our experience they are quick (they directly heat the pan, not the hob), are very controllable (from as low as 1, which would take forever to fry an egg, and up to 9 (on ours) that will have the pot boiling as quick as gas.

And, they are easy to clean (that's my job) because the hob doesn't get hot like other cooktops. We place a piece of paper towel on the hob and the pan on top of that... which helps to keep the hob clean ... and, if the contents aren't burning, neither does the paper towel...:)

The one issue for people in my/our generation in changing over to induction cooking is that the pan bottoms need to contain magnetic iron, which most newer cookware does, but that may not be the case with all of the cookware that you have had for the last 50yrs.

Some people say that the induction tops don't do as good a job with Wok cooking. Some have a single gas burner just for that, but, in our experience, a good induction top wok does a reasonable job.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NeilS

Some people say that the induction tops don't do as good a job with Wok cooking. Some have a single gas burner just for that, but, in our experience, a good induction top wok does a reasonable job.

---

It.... may take some more convincing for me to give up gas stovetop cooking. Apart from the minimal (miniscule?) impact on global heating which I'm sure could be easily absorbed into nett zero, one of the things I like to be able to do with gas stove cooking is to be able to lift the pan/pot up off the cooktop a wee bit, but still get some heat happening.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by woodPixel

The rates on the left are fixed rate, the right is my current variable plan.

Attachment 512530

---

Now that screen shot displays something that I just don't get at all.

Why does the supply charge -- which ostensibly pays for the poles, wires and metering -- vary between the fixed cost and variable pricing plans?
Electricity, and for that matter gas, all need a connection to the source of supply. The poles and wires for electricity or the in street gas main.
So on what basis can those fixed supply costs vary between plans?

I'm holding my breath -- well not literally -- waiting for a rational response.


To me variable supply charges looks to be nothing more than very very tricky marketing. Or should I just say an outright lie?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by NeilS

... Some people say that the induction tops don't do as good a job with Wok cooking. Some have a single gas burner just for that, but, in our experience, a good induction top wok does a reasonable job.

---

Both my wife and I like cooking, and we did a lot of research into this issue when we were planning a new kitchen ten years ago. Two issues that we were considering were:

• gas or induction cooktop, and
• wok burner or not.

Surprisingly, a Chinese friend advised us against installing a wok burner, on the surprising grounds that it would disappoint us.

Both Kai Wing and his wife are very good cooks and we have enjoyed many meals with them. Then they bought a small restaurant and found that they were cooking better in the restaurant than at home. The difference was commercial vs domestic wok burners, so they installed a commercial wok burner on a stainless steel bench at home and their cooking went up a notch from extremely good. Brilliant.

While researching our then planned kitchen we looked at both wok burners and cooktops with wok burners:

• The largest available domestic wok burners then had an output of 25 mJ,
• The smallest then available commercial wok burner was 100 mJ and they ranged up to 400 mJ, and
• Induction wok burners (domestic) were rated slightly lower than gas.

It was too difficult to incorporate a commercial wok burner into our kitchen so we eventually with a gas cooktop with a 25 mJ wok burner.

I increasingly wish that we had a much larger wok burner; I can cook significantly better in Kai Wing's kitchen than my own. As he repeatedly says, "If stir frying takes more than 60 seconds then turn the heat up more!" and "Keep the food moving."

On wok burners, go to the Chinese food supply stores. Near the steamers and scoops they usually sell 3 and 4 ring burners.

They are BEASTS. Ugly - but they put out heat like crazy.

Here is a local ripoff: High Pressure 4 Ring Burner 72MJ/h LPG Gas 6.9kPa but they are normally about $40-50 in the stores.

Attachment 512561

edit: they have one for $70, which is sort of OK on price but it does come with a hose.... Gasmate Cast Iron Ring Burner - MyDeal

Attachment 512562

My daughter is also with Reamped who are telling customers to go elsewhere. Massive advertising campaign to get the customers to switch now, or face price rises of 100% or more.

Today they sweetened the deal and offered her a $100 voucher if she switched.

They must be seriously under water financially if they are now paying people to go. There must be some problem with simply jacking up the price. Is there some legislated cap for prices? I can’t think of another reason why they’d do this. I don’t believe the marketing hype that they are using about wanting to be honest and straightforward.

I’ve already switched, without the offer of a $100 voucher.

cheers,

ajw

Quite a few isssues have been raised in the last few threads.

The so-called wok burners as Graeme has identified are just not up to the job on the domestic front. I do have one of those multi rings gas burners WP posted, but have never actually used it.

The retiallers that are advising people to go elsewhere for their power are paying the penalty for not having contracts to safeguard their pricing. there is some cap that is set so prices cannot be raised without limitation and I am guessing that this cap would leave the retaillers still well out of pocket: Hence the $100 incentive to move on. There is a good chance that those companies will not survive so I would difinitely look elsewhere for my supplier.

The use of gas is contentious. It is a carbon emitting fossil fuel. To say that the small limited use of domestic gas is inconsequential in the big scheme of things is sympathetic to the climate denialist line that Australia is a small player in the world of emissions ( despite being the largest emitter per capita). Before I am accused of being purist, I wneed to declare, again, that we have gas for our cooktop and in sentencing I wish my use of our wood fired chimenea to be taken into consideration too: Used as an open grill (the hyperbolic section is removable) it cooks better tasting food than anything else we have at out disposable. However, it is undeniable that I am making excuses for my contirbution to CO2 emissions. When we replace the stove it will be electric: I don't know what I will do about the chiminea. :(

In the last week wholesale prices on the spot market have been up around $350/Mwhr (35c/Kwhr). Retail prices as shown in FenceFurniture's post are around 27c/kwhr. On this showing and if no easing of the market occurs (I am not sure how it can other than a slight reduction in demand during Spring, which is a way off) as contracts become renewable I can see the retail price easily going to 50c/Kwhr.

Regards
Paul

Co2 is an issue, Paul: if you have a gas heater and live in, say, Thredbo or Liaweene, then you will probably run said heater for 24 hours per day, and produce a lot of CO2.

An adequately powered wok should complete a stir-fry in less than 60 seconds. Morally, I can live with that amount of CO2.

Here are a couple of links that confirm much of the conversations we have already had.

Government blames Coalition for energy price rises | Watch (msn.com)

Failure of coal leaves us stuck with gas as a very expensive transition fuel (msn.com)

The second link refers to coal failure both from breakdowns due to ageing units and the climate. The climate and the difficulty in actually mining the coal is an interesting one. My own station has had some difficulty with this. Another weather related problem has caused a scheduled outage (we are pedanticl with our maintenance programmes) caused a very unusual extension to the outage. A large crane was in position to lift a component in through the top of the boiler and was unable to do this because of continued wet weather. A weeks delay that was not seen coming!

Regards
Paul

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Here are a couple of links that confirm much of the conversations we have already had.

Government blames Coalition for energy price rises | Watch (msn.com)

Failure of coal leaves us stuck with gas as a very expensive transition fuel (msn.com)

The second link refers to coal failure both from breakdowns due to ageing units and the climate. The climate and the difficulty in actually mining the coal is an interesting one. My own station has had some difficulty with this. Another weather related problem has caused a scheduled outage (we are pedanticl with our maintenance programmes) caused a very unusual extension to the outage. A large crane was in position to lift a component in through the top of the boiler and was unable to do this because of continued wet weather. A weeks delay that was not seen coming!

Regards
Paul

---

There is another factor at play in all this and that is solar production on the East Coast and possibly further afield is down hugely and this will obviously drive up grid usage during this winter.