View Full Version : Sir Bernard Ingham talks Nuclear in Thurso
I see Sir Bernard Ingham (Maggie Thatcher's ex Press secretary) is giving a talk this month on the merits of Nuclear energy. Presumably, he wants a new commercial reactor on the Dounreay site.
I thought Dounreay was planned to become a green field site?
However, I have just finished watching Marcel Theroux's ITV documentary 'The War on Terra:The End of the World as we know it.' The conclusion of the programme was that if we are serious about reducing carbon dioxide then we must go nuclear (Like it or not).
The meeting is to be held at 10.30am Sat 22nd Jan at the Highland College Thurso.
I think I might turn up for Sir Bernard's talk seeing as I missed David Bellamy. :roll:
mysophales
08-Jan-05, 22:53
All for nuclear power, and no i don't work in Dounreay
but i am all for the environment.
nuclear power is about the only real option,
rather than cover scotland in wind turbines.
yeah, I agree....although the scientists say its maybe to late to repair as the damage has already been done....we need to get nuclear power stations on the go asap....but whos listening to the scientist? Already somewhere in America people cant go outside as they feel their skin burn after a few minutes, due to the hole in the ozone layer being right over them. Surely having nuclear power and some loss of life is better than having no life on earth at all?
Rheghead, as far as Scotland is concerned, perhaps we should say:
The conclusion of the programme was that if we are serious about reducing carbon dioxide then we must stay nuclear (Like it or not).
Remember that 55% of Scotland's electricity is produced by just two power stations, namely Torness (http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/features/featurefirst274.html) and Hunterston B (http://www.geo.ed.ac.uk/scotgaz/features/featurefirst2011.html), both of which are Advanced Gas-Cooled Reactors (AGRs). Torness always reminds me a little of Dounreay's PFR when I pass by on the train, but it sits on a tiny site compared to the Dounreay one.
If we are going to build new nuclear stations, then we had better hurry up and do so before the whole of the current generation of experienced nuclear construction engineers has retired! I do get the impression that the tide of both political and public opinion is beginning to turn back towards nuclear power, but I wouldn't bet any money on it just yet.
Did anyone else see "Landward" on BBC1 this morning? It was all about renewable energy in Scotland, and it seemed to be relatively objective. I was most interested in the wave-energy part at the end, but they didn't say much that I didn't already know.
It seems to me that wave energy might have a big part to play in the future, but non-nuclear renewables have a long long way to go before they can even begin to compete with nuclear for large-scale reliable power generation. Kinda sad really...
captain chaos
09-Jan-05, 18:12
I agree we need to have a stable base load of 60-70% of which nuclear would be the sensible option.
Why the government ever privatised the nuclear power stations I will never know.
With the coal stations being phased out in 2006 and our reliance on Gas power stations becoming ever larger, it's only a year or two before we become major importers of gas.
Not a good situation when you consider the UK has no large storage reserves, unlike our neighnours across the English channel . They have built huge underground storage tanks to last thier countries at least two weeks in the event of a gas pipeline supply problem
Yes by all means build wind, wave and solar but right now we need to have the large capacity nuclear can give in the national Grid.
When you consider that the PFR(Dounreay) was a small prototype and pumped out 250MW and that 25 wind turbines at Causeywaymire only push out 48MW max ,that would mean another 100 wind turbines required just to equall a small power station like the PFR. With commercial nuclear power plants pushing out 1GW that's equivalent to about 500 windmils - no comparison in the power stakes really is there?
captain_chaos wrote
Why the government ever privatised the nuclear power stations I will never know.
Have they? I thought they were still in the Public domain.
BTW thanks again for the solar panels
captain chaos
09-Jan-05, 19:20
British Energy plc is the United Kingdom's largest generator.
The Company was privatised in 1996 and is listed on the London and New York Stock Exchanges, trading under the symbol BGY.
The Company owns and operates eight nuclear power stations in the UK with a combined capacity of approximately 9600 MW. Seven stations have twinned advanced gas cooled reactors (AGR); the other station has one pressurised water reactor (PWR).
I agree that we need new base load power stations sited close to the points of use. It makes no sense to site power stations (or wind farms) hundreds of miles away from the point of use as this creates large losses in the lines which have to be payed for by us the users. The new base load need not be all nuclear but could also be clean coal, which would also provide large steady base load like nuclear can. This base load would then augmented by the renewables when they are available. The renewables would reduce the need for gas fired generation to be used as base load except when nature is against us and we have no sun, wind, waves or tide.
Weir group of Glasgow, a very large name in power station equipment provision say that they can fit clean coal technology to Britians existing coal power stations for less than it would cost to build the wind farms planned in Britian today. This would give the possibility of co-firing IE burning renewable fuel (wood, straw etc) as well as coal in the stations helping the cause even more.
Britian had some of the cleanest coal available at one time but sadly those deep mines are now closed becuase we can haul coal from China cheaper than we can produce it ourselves, says something about the way the world is being run by accountants today and they have NO thought for OUR planet only for the money in their hands.
Save the world shoot the accountants.
The sooner we realise that nuclear power is the way forward the better. It may just save Caithness from distinction.
DrSzin wrote
I do get the impression that the tide of both political and public opinion is beginning to turn back towards nuclear power
I get that impression too. But up here Sir Bernard will be preaching largely to the zealous converted.
Funnily, Marcel Theroux was able to interview people who lived in the town near to Chernobyl who were still in favour of nuclear energy. They summed it up quite neatly
'Unless we want to return to a preindustrial existance then we must accept nuclear energy and all its risks'
Who else have greater qualifications to speak such wise words?
However, I have just finished watching Marcel Theroux's ITV documentary 'The War on Terra:The End of the World as we know it.' The conclusion of the programme was that if we are serious about reducing carbon dioxide then we must go nuclear (Like it or not).
I also watched this programme and the statement by James Lovelock, the author of the Gaia Theory, that we may have to resort to nuclear power to save the planet, was quite an eye opener. Mind you he is a member of Environmentalists For Nuclear Energy...
James Lovelock (http://www.ecolo.org/lovelock/lovebioen.htm)
The programme on Monday looks to be interesting - it looks at the USA's love of gas guzzling SUV's.
Madpict wrote
The programme on Monday looks to be interesting - it looks at the USA's love of gas guzzling SUV's.
This programme series is fascinating to me.
When Marcel Theroux tried to interview an Alaskan about Global Warming he seemed to be in complete denial about it and stopped the interview.
My own experience in Florida was the same. When I asked my ex British (now American) friends where the bottle bank was (we had gone through a few bottles :lol: ) he said 'What's one of them?'
Inevitably I moved onto the subject of Global warming, and he seemed to think it was a myth and that the Kyoto agreement was an anti-american plot!!
He did drive a 9 m.p.g. 7.5 litre SUV and had a gun in the house...
Suffice to say, I decided to drop the subject on the grounds of good transatlantic relations! :)
Hah - recycling in the US. I had a similar conversation with my friends in Florida.
"Where do you put the bottles/cans?" I asked.
"In the trash" was the reply.
And composting kitchen waste? Straight down the waste disposal unit.
Tonights programme asked "What would Jesus drive?" - the reply "Well he was a carpenter and he had 12 guys following him around so he would probably drive a big pickup" came from the head of the SUV Owners Club....
Overall the impression of "prising the keys to my SUV out of my cold dead fingers" was the end result of this programme.
Overall the impression of "prising the keys to my SUV out of my cold dead fingers" was the end result of this programme.
Nice Charlton Heston quote there! :o)
When Marcel Theroux tried to interview an Alaskan about Global Warming he seemed to be in complete denial about it and stopped the interview.
Picture an Inuit on a Quad Bike - stopped on the road being interviewed about the oil company that pours money into their town and global warming.
"Oh hey there goes my cousin - sorry man, I need to talk to him"
(His "cousin" drives by behind the camera from left to right)
So off he drives in completely the opposite direction!!!
[lol]
dougleith
14-Jan-05, 19:12
Is the Bernard Ingham talk open to the public ? If so, where can we find more info ?
captain chaos
14-Jan-05, 19:25
Its advertised in the groat today as follows
Sat 22nd Jan 10:30am
Main Hall North Highland College Thurso
All Welcome
Not sure I could stand listening to Sir B ranting in favour of nuclear power for an hour or so, even if he is right. I would probably find something substantive to argue with him about -- just because he is who he is.
Guess which former Prime Minister is top of my list of undesirables? I spotted this article (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1438232,00.html) on the front page of today's Times. Pity the headline wasn't referring to his mum :evil This hasn't been a good week for the sons of this country's elderly leading ladies.
Seriously, I hope someone will post a full report on the Sir Bernard Show after the event.
1. Highland Energy Efficiency Advice Centre
Wed 26th Jan, Thurso Town Hall 11am -3 pm, swap two normal lightbulbs for energy efficient ones. Advisers present--info on saving energy, grants
2. Supporters of Nuclear Energy/ Dounreay Action Group
Sat 22 Jan, Main hall, NHC, Thurso 10.30am Sir Bernard Ingham "A nuclear future for Caithness?"
3. CREF!!!!
Tues 1st Feb, Wick High School, Wick 7pm
Meeting with speakers Freebies available
Lets get away from those old fossils!
Not sure I could stand listening to Sir B ranting in favour of nuclear power for an hour or so, even if he is right. I would probably find something substantive to argue with him about -- just because he is who he is.
Guess which former Prime Minister is top of my list of undesirables? I spotted this article (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1438232,00.html) on the front page of today's Times. Pity the headline wasn't referring to his mum :evil This hasn't been a good week for the sons of this country's elderly leading ladies.
Seriously, I hope someone will post a full report on the Sir Bernard Show after the event.
here is the report via Caithness courier
Sir Bernard Ingham report (http://www.caithness-courier.co.uk/article.tvt?_ticket=OMTEDWX263RGUU4GKRMAAQ4S7AKACK 5IURWFJQVABSWFJKLAFSMY7QRFL1P9ANWP4879CHVTTRRMINNA HSSEARN9CHYSTRRLRNNAGQSEAOWWQVLQA192&_scope=Flow/Caithness%20Courier&id=25431&ARTICLECAT=News)
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