Are we about to start using nuclear power from the UK?

Augmerson

http://www.rte.ie/news/2012/0920/interconnector-eirgrid-energy.html

RTE wrote:

The interconnector is around 260 kilometres in length and has the capacity to carry 500 megawatts of electricity between Ireland and Britain, and enough energy to power 300,000 homes.

It is the largest single piece of energy infrastructure to be built here since the Ardnacrusha Hydroelectric power station was opened in 1929.
It will allow electricity to be bought and sold between the two countries.
Eirgrid, which was in charge of delivering the project, said it had come in on time and below its €600m budget.

The semi-state company said the connector will help maintain the security of supply and encourage the development of renewable energy sources here.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny is expected to attend today’s official opening ceremony, with the interconnector beginning commercial operations on 1 October.

t;dr= A energy interconnector has been built between Ireland and the UK, allowing us to sell or buy excess energy produced by our energy grid. We can buy electricity from the UK now to meet our demand.

Anyway, soon we may be using electricity produced from nuclear stations. How does this make you feel?

gobnaitolunacy

Meh.

toddunctious

Ignorance is bliss

syklops

Just to clarify for some folks out there, contrary to the belief of some(I dare say many), electricity produced from nuclear plants is NOT radio-active. It will not harm you. You do not need to go looking for the iodine tablets.

Duggy747

Radioactive or not, I want my mutant superhero, dammit!

I'd settle for a 90ft radioactive monkey, though

Augmerson

syklops wrote: »

Just to clarify for some folks out there, contrary to the belief of some(I dare say many), electricity produced from nuclear plants is NOT radio-active. It will not harm you. You do not need to go looking for the iodine tablets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juFZh92MUOY

Simi

Augmerson wrote: »

How does this make you feel?

It doesn't?

Where To

Half of everything in your house was probably made in a factory powered by a nuclear reactor.

im invisible

and we can sell them ours from burning potatoes turf, problem?

Mr.Crinklewood

syklops wrote: »

Just to clarify for some folks out there, contrary to the belief of some(I dare say many), electricity produced from nuclear plants is NOT radio-active. It will not harm you. You do not need to go looking for the iodine tablets.

This is bull****.

When I plugged my alarm clock into the wall and turned it on the electricity made my radio active.

ManAboutCouch

There is already an interconnector between Scotland and Northern Ireland, which has been operating since 2002: http://www.mutual-energy.com/The_Moyle_Interconnector/Index.php

From that connection some proportion of our energy already comes from Nuclear, because we have had a single electricity market on this island since 2007. I think it is in the order of 2% or so. With this new interconnector that could rise to 5% perhaps.

Duggy747

Almost expecting to see some silly post on my Facebook wall on how this should be stopped.

With obligatory link to a petition :pac:

Duckworth_Luas

syklops wrote: »

Just to clarify for some folks out there, contrary to the belief of some(I dare say many), electricity produced from nuclear plants is NOT radio-active. It will not harm you. You do not need to go looking for the iodine tablets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGAu_DeKckI

Don't see the problem

CreepingDeath

Augmerson wrote: »

Anyway, soon we may be using electricity produced from nuclear stations. How does this make you feel?

I think you should start a picket line at the coast.

Bloody British electrons coming in here, taking our potential difference.

Augmerson

CreepingDeath wrote: »

I think you should start a picket line at the coast.

Why would I do that?

CardBordWindow

Once there's electricity to power my rants on boards, I don't care where it comes from. It could be powered by orphans running on wheels for all I care.

stevenmu

syklops wrote: »

You do not need to go looking for the iodine tablets.

That's a relief, I took mine that time they said there would be a hurricane.

Just in case like.

NIMAN

I hope so, if it means we will get cheaper electricity.

John

Isn't it the start of Ireland setting up a massive wind farm and selling electricity to the UK rather than us buying from them in the long run?

Pompey Magnus

Does Britain not already need to import electricity from France and Germany? Are they really going to export it to us?

Gurgle

Augmerson wrote: »

soon we may be using electricity produced from nuclear stations. How does this make you feel?

Like you missed the point.

This interconnect is for letting us sell them electricity made from wind and clouds and waves and sunshine and flowers and the laughter of children.

Oh, and we've been using British nuclear energy (and swimming in British nuclear waste) for years.

Augmerson

It just seems a bit odd that for years our Gov't is trying to close down Calder Hall/Sellafield but in the meantime is importing nuclear energy from nuclear power stations.

danslevent

Kinda ironic isn't it! I remember in primary school sending those postcards to 10 Downing Street asking to shut Sellafield down...we have changed our tune :P

mike65

To be fair it was the processing plant that the campaign was aimed at, but yeah hypocrisy how are you?

Its hard to credit (or it should be) but a Green TD actually wondered out loud about "filtering" the current to not allow nuclear sourced power onto the interconnector.

syklops

mike65 wrote: »

Its hard to credit (or it should be) but a Green TD actually wondered out loud about "filtering" the current to not allow nuclear sourced power onto the interconnector.

I remember that. That was a real life facepalm moment.

Seaneh

In fairness, they, on average produce a negative amount per year and we over produce so we will be selling them lovely ardnacrusha water energy (and dirty money point coal energy) and very rarely buying anything from them.

Firefox11

Gurgle wrote: »

Like you missed the point.

This interconnect is for letting us sell them electricity made from wind and clouds and waves and sunshine and flowers and the laughter of children.

Oh, and we've been using British nuclear energy (and swimming in British nuclear waste) for years.

But I haven't grown a third leg though. No winning a medal in the Olympics in four years then.:(

pljudge321

Seaneh wrote: »

In fairness, they, on average produce a negative amount per year and we over produce so we will be selling them lovely ardnacrusha water energy (and dirty money point coal energy) and very rarely buying anything from them.

The Moyle interconnector is a net exporter of energy from the British system to here, the east-west one is expected to be the same for at least the short term future.

eth0

I thought we were supposed to be exporting electricity to England and making money out of this not nodding off and saying "ah sure the Brits can supply us with electricity now and the Chinese can make all our stuff until we're all completely broke. Sure we'll all be dead by then anyway"

Ziphius

syklops wrote: »

Just to clarify for some folks out there, contrary to the belief of some(I dare say many), electricity produced from nuclear plants is NOT radio-active. It will not harm you. You do not need to go looking for the iodine tablets.

Isn't it a lot heavier than regular electricity? Can even drop from the power lines and crush thouse unfortunates below

jesus_thats_gre

From what I have been told, the UK is majorly struggling with capacity. I even heard that there is a ban on building data centres within the M25 in London due to shortages.

Some UK minster was also recently talking about building wind generated power from Ireland too IIRC.

gctest50

CardBordWindow wrote: »

Once there's electricity to power my rants on boards, I don't care where it comes from. It could be powered by orphans running on wheels for all I care.

Bit short of orphans - will burning bunny rabbits do you for now ?

http://www.thelocal.se/22610/20091012/

ejmaztec

syklops wrote: »

Just to clarify for some folks out there, contrary to the belief of some(I dare say many), electricity produced from nuclear plants is NOT radio-active. It will not harm you. You do not need to go looking for the iodine tablets.

Does that mean you can put an electric fire in the bath so's the water doesn't go cold?

Guy:Incognito

Augmerson wrote: »

. How does this make you feel?

Warm when I'm using it to heat the house.

stoneill

It's pronounced nucular

working fool

Duggy747 wrote: »

Radioactive or not, I want my mutant superhero, dammit!

I'd settle for a 90ft radioactive monkey, though

GM corn also helps

Capt'n Midnight

Where To wrote: »

Half of everything in your house was probably made in a factory powered by a nuclear reactor.

Not unless you live in France.

Worldwide nuclear power only supplies about 1/7th the worlds electricity.


Anyway electricity users in the UK pay a surcharge to pay for the cost of Nuclear.

Where To

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

Not unless you live in France.

Worldwide nuclear power only supplies about 1/7th the worlds electricity.


Anyway electricity users in the UK pay a surcharge to pay for the cost of Nuclear.

So, if you have seven two finger Kitkats in your cupboard, one of them is most likely glowing in the dark?:eek:

Quorum

syklops wrote: »

Just to clarify for some folks out there, contrary to the belief of some(I dare say many), electricity produced from nuclear plants is NOT radio-active. It will not harm you. You do not need to go looking for the iodine tablets.

I thought most people knew this and that it's the waste products that are.

GarH

Meh. we should have our own nuclear power plant anywhere.
Cheap, and clean.

spank_inferno

GarH wrote: »

Meh. we should have our own nuclear power plant anywhere.
Cheap, and clean.

Nah... the Irish way is to import it from elsewhere and pretend we are "green"

(despite nuclear being the best chance we have of meeting Kyoto co2 reduction targets.... but we'll keep that quiet).

LeinsterDub

spank_inferno wrote: »

Nah... the Irish way is to import it from elsewhere and pretend we are "green"

(despite nuclear being the best chance we have of meeting Kyoto co2 reduction targets.... but we'll keep that quiet).

Haven't we met our Kyoto target now that we've torpedoed the economy?

starbelgrade

If they're sending electricity to us & we're sending some to them at the same time, what happens then?

DublinWriter

Death Rate From Nuclear Power Vs Coal?
http://d2itb63h5gldlw.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/death-rate-per-watts.jpg

Nuclear power is far safer, cleaner and greener than fossil fuels. Fact.

Any other argument is just so much emotive anti-science ignorance.

jesus_thats_gre

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

From what I have been told, the UK is majorly struggling with capacity. I even heard that there is a ban on building data centres within the M25 in London due to shortages.

Some UK minster was also recently talking about building wind generated power from Ireland too IIRC.

I think the plan is for us to be selling them electricity most of the time. When I was in school I wondered why we didn't have a load of interconnectors being built at once and just plug wind turbines into them. :pac:

megafan

starbelgrade wrote: »

If they're sending electricity to us & we're sending some to them at the same time, what happens then?

Suppose there'll ba a blockage in the wires so?? :rolleyes:

horgan_p

Sure we'll run the electricity off the gas and the gas off the electricity and save £200

Knasher

John wrote: »

Isn't it the start of Ireland setting up a massive wind farm and selling electricity to the UK rather than us buying from them in the long run?

Long term the goal is to sell our excess wind power into the English grid, but we will also be buying from them (and what we buy will be more expensive per watt than what we sell). The main advantage we get is that it will allow us the capacity to increase our reliance on wind power without compromising our supply. One of the major disadvantages of wind power is that it is unreliable, whenever the wind drops, so in order to avoid brownouts we need other sources, hydroelectric is pretty handy because we can turn it on and off quickly, but we don't have the capacity to power the entire country off it. Other options are pumped water stations, like Turlough Hill, where we just pump water up a hill when we have excess capacity and then let it flow back down when we need it, but needs a lot of land to run. So we need other sources, i.e. fossil fuels, but the problem with those is that they take a long time to start supplying electricity (they are all steam based, so it's kinda like boiling a kettle), so if there is a sudden drop in wind power then we have blackouts until the power plants can take up the slack, in order to avoid this we have to keep the fossil fuel plants on even when we even when we don't really need them.

The net result of all that is wasted electricity, and as the amount we generate from wind increases, the amount we waste increases linearly with it, inter-connectors give us an place to sell that waste as well as buy it when we need it, increasing our efficiency.

ted1

John wrote: »

Isn't it the start of Ireland setting up a massive wind farm and selling electricity to the UK rather than us buying from them in the long run?

No, we'll never sell wind power to them. We already subside out wind energy, what do you think the pso levy is for? Wind energy isn't economical. Why would we sell at a loss.

ted1

jesus_thats_gre wrote: »

From what I have been told, the UK is majorly struggling with capacity. I even heard that there is a ban on building data centres within the M25 in London due to shortages.

Some UK minster was also recently talking about building wind generated power from Ireland too IIRC.

If its true its probably due to inadequate infrastructure ad oppose to supply. That is the cables are local traffos are maxed out.