Perhaps outlook unstable?3 Apr 2019 15:44
I would actually say the energy market is unstable - unclear plants tend to last around 35-40 years (or less if magnox or inferior design).
Hence nearly all of the UK's nuclear plants are at the end of their life - and are actually continuing to be run beyond the end of their intended lives to prevent a power crisis/blackouts in the UK - however this is not safe in the eyes of some, and certainly not a medium-term solution - even those that said it was safe (because the alternative of blackouts was worse) acknowledge it is only a short-term solution. Nuclear plants have a life, and we are already into the period when those lives have been extended by cutting back on the legal safety margins required of the elements in the reactors which slow the neutrons down, and hence which get used up themselves over time in this process).
In my opinion what's gone wrong is the policy focus on wind power - it is okay up to a point but is not reliable and hence can't really be a solution for the whole UK economy. Windfarms are also very expensive and who knows what their performance will be like in 10-15 years - how often do the turbines break down - what level of maintenance is required? Also onshore wind is even worse as the landowners ask for ridiculous amounts of money just for 1 turbine
Company should be telling government/ministers green tax is making the government unelectable in the eyes of voters like myself - that we know all the money is ending up in the hands of already rich landowners who are not behaving morally/ethically from what I have observed with my own eyes - quite right that ordinary people are up in arms about what's going on - government is not their to funnel tax payer's money straight to gentleman farmers/landowners for doing nothing but driving around the countryside in their brand new Porsche Cayennes, whilst there are no jobs for the young, many villages have gone from 3 or 4 pubs down to just one, local hotels/b'n'b's closing down - villages destroyed - complete failure of managements and of people to behave ethically.
What's need is something which can provide electricity with a great degree of long-term stability - that is gas turbine generators. Nuclear is too dangerous - solar is too niche - wind power can't be rolled out in large enough scale - and we have already moved away from coal - but gas power seems like the answer - the plant designs are simple and well-understood by many, the construction is relatively quick and straightforward, and we can import gas from Qatar/offshore Brazil/Norway/Russia/USA for the next 100 years - look at the Marcellus shale gas field in the USA - they have so much gas there they would be grateful to sell it all over the world at 15p per therm . & Shell is doing a great job offshore Brazil and offshore Australia. Hence looking at all the options new gas-fired power stations seem to be the greenest, cleanest, cheapest, most stable, and easiest! - Why aren't we getting on with build