Mr Miliband’s desperate letter to National Grid seeking urgently a way to decarbonise U.K. electricity generation by 2030 and asking for the costs is very worrying. He spent 14 years in Opposition studying public policy. He set out how a faster drive to net zero would be central to Labour’s policy. He told us it would drive growth and bring us plenty of new cheaper renewable power, cutting our fuel bills. Now he reveals he never worked out how you could do it or how much it would cost.
This revelation doesn’t just undermine Mr Miliband. It demolishes the central plank of the governments economic, energy and jobs strategy. How can National Grid reply without revealing three truths. There is no way the U.K. can fully decarbonise its electricity by 2030. The cost in investment money would be colossal. With big subsidies energy will be dearer not cheaper.
To get to net zero power generation the U.K. needs to replace the 4.8 GW of nuclear that is closing, and replace the gas turbine power which can be as much as 20 GW on a no wind or sun time. It needs to find a way to have enough renewable power to cover these huge losses even when there is little wind or sun. Without gas fired backup that needs an unplanned large amount of storage or hydrogen conversion. The latest bidding round has not provided nearly enough renewable power when you allow for the governments view that solar only delivers 12% of rated capacity and wind around 30%.
Replacing more than half our current generation costs tens of billions , as would putting in sufficient storage and a new hydrogen system, along with grid expansion. Dogger Bank wind farm was to cost £11 bn and would be considerably dearer starting today for 3.6 GW of gross capacity or maybe 1.4GW of average power. Hinckley Point for 3.2 GW of power will be over £40 bn. So 20 GW of replacement generation would be say £200 bn plus costs of grid and storage. Energy prices would need to increase with many more high price guarantees to bring forward the investment. £8.3 bn over five years from Great British Energy would make little difference given the vastness of the task.
September 7, 2024
I wonder whether there is enough electricity in Milliband’s head to comprehend any of this? Imagine admitting that you have done NOTHING productive for a decade, and now you are in the hot seat, your best effort is to ask a question 🤯
These people are snookered. I’m looking forward to the day of dawning recognition. I wonder who they will blame when the lights go out? I wonder when they will realise that with every boat landed on the beaches, their hope of ‘spreading the load’ evaporates.
As the lights go out in Ukraine, expect another huge wave of asylum seekers. They will bring their darkness with them.
September 7, 2024
Agree Lynn, it doesn’t make Milliband look good – but will he notice? Only a max 4 year and 10 months until the next election.
Another missing point from Sire J’s critique: Only about 10% of UK energy usage comes from electricity. Gas and oil remain essential to the UK (and every other) economy so we should be extracting and using our own supplies for greatest efficiency and security.
September 7, 2024
Agree Lynn, it doesn’t make Milliband look good
Also how can you trust a guy who can’t even eat a bacon butty
September 7, 2024
But by the next election will they perhaps have abolished voter ID, made family postal voting compulsory, extended the vote to people over say 14 and non British people, gerrymandered the boundaries, stuffed the Lords with even more lefties…
September 8, 2024
…and who’s to say that the new leadership of the tories will reverse any net-zero policies
September 7, 2024
You would think even the brain dead know that. Are they not very lucky we did not all switch to EVs (and build orchard houses like Mr Cold of this blog).
If I was more of a more Christian disposition I could ask forgiveness for them on the basis that ‘they know not what they do’, but I feel verrrrrry unforgiving. This is a criminal attack on our nation. I’m looking for a eye at least!
I have never proposed myself as a Parliamentary candidate because I wanted people far more capable than I, with my politics to fight our cause. When did Parliament become the safety net for the retarded?
September 7, 2024
In 3 weeks the last 1.5gw coal fired station is die to close at Ratcliffe on Soar. No doubt Milipede will be their proclaiming what a significant day this is as Uniper dismantle it and send parts to Germany for their coal fired stations.
As with the Rwanda plan, it seems only this country must obey EU directives I bet there will be no last minute judgements against Germany from the ECHR.
The gas fired stations which are very efficient are privately owned , would any sensible person invest in them when they are deemed the enemy by the government.
We have children running non energy policy and I’m amazed one person is allowed to do so much damage.
September 7, 2024
Our only hope is a showdown between Miliband and Reeves, when someone in Treasury starts to add up the costs. Of course that level of real energy cost analysis may be prevented by the Party Net Zero dogma, so the lights may be turned off before we see some common sense.
Will the ‘free Press’ lift a finger?
September 7, 2024
Indeed. Just one of many examples why politicians should have no say over things like energy, education, emergency services, health policy etc. They have God syndrome declaring their belief’s and knowledge over things where they haven’t a clue.
Experts should always be in charge and the politicos given a choice of options. Nothing more. Many of us have been experts in our own fields listening to stupid politicos arguing over professional issues where they are expressing opinions like clueless children!! Then imposing DEI/ESG effectively dismantling public sector services and competence to the point of collapse.
They always think they know best over useless candidate selection instead of a meritocracy. Minority groups don’t need “special” help if they are any good. It just leaves the majority totally disillusioned or leaving whilst the services collapse.
Blairs interference in lefty minority selections/quangos/etc has reached critical mass as we’re all witnessing. The Tory’s just watched and did nothing!
September 7, 2024
Speaking of lights going out, the other day we received a leaflet from SSE with advice on what to do in a power cut. They failed to mention being ready with a supply of candles. Perhaps they don’t trust us with a box of matches or that these belong to a long past age.
September 7, 2024
LED battery or even windup torches are great. The batteries last ages (up to 25 times better than incandescent). Today an hour of light costs about 1 second of work. In 1800 with candles about 50 hours. Rather better, more portable, safer and more convenient light too.
Even better improvements in semiconductors, electronic and communications. Alas Government has just got larger and larger to steal most of the technology benefits!
September 7, 2024
I can see their point regarding the matches. I would ban stakes too if I were them.
September 7, 2024
Lynn
He is already blaming the Tory’s for lack of ‘investment’ (ie Spending), which is only partly true. The Tory’s did spend money on energy, it was just on the wrong things, mostly down to their own incompetence and following the Climate Change Act which the Tory’s should have repealed.
September 7, 2024
The task would indeed be vast, vastly expensive and entirely pointless and with zero indeed actually negative benefits. Even more vast if they make people switch to heat pumps and EV vehicles. Plus of course burning (young coal) imported wood at Drax would have to stop. There is nothing environmental or low CO2 about burning wood it is worse than coal in CO2 and environmental terms.
A switch to heat pumps especially will create a large winter bulge in electricity demand which will mean vast extra investment in grid and generating capacity circa 10 times that is largely wasted for most of the year.
In short the policy is mad and evil with negative benefits. A bit more (from the current historical dearth) of atmospheric CO2 is a good thing anyway.
See The Sceptic (latest podcast latter part). Zealot PPE loon Ed Miliband is another Chairman Mao in the making. It will kill many thousands and destroy the economy. Far more than removing the pensioner fuel allowance will and with zero indeed negative benefits. Pure evil from this religious nutter.
September 7, 2024
LL :
Yes, a switch to heat pumps and evs is not possible until the local grids are upgraded. 80% or more can only handle 1 – 2 KW per household continuously. Neither would the much vaunted cheap electricity be feasible when the wind is blowing (ToUTs – Time of Use Tariffs) as both the national and local grids cannot handle the resulting peak demands. Net Zero was never meant to work anyway, just impoverish us with expensive chaotically intermittent electricity and impractical devices.
September 7, 2024
Rachael Maskell – Labour and Co-operative MP for York Central has called for a rethink on Winter Fuel Allowance as it will clearly kill many people. She needs to do the same for the far larger problem of Zealot Ed-stone Miliband with his Net Zero lunacy which will kill far more and destroy what is left of the economy by exporting whole industries and not even saving CO2.
September 7, 2024
Good morning.
Now he reveals he never worked out how you could do it or how much it would cost.
At the risk of contradicting myself, I am both not surprised and yet, surprised. I am not surprised that he did not do due diligence. All this Climate Change and green energy stuff is just a big swindle. I mean, just like the Tory party, the Labour Party gained much in the form of donations from those who would benefit from such policies. I am also surprised that no one, especially in the media, ever thought to ask the right questions and get the facts. But then again, maybe I shouldn’t. I mean, it is not as if we have an objective media.
I like the fact that RedEd has already got his blame game in so early. That is one area where I think he has actually done some work on. He has claimed that the poor people of his constituency (Doncaster) will suffer as a result. Yes, the policy of the Climate Change Act (CCA) that he created and set the path that we are now on is to be buried by claims it is all the Tory’s fault for not planning ahead and building more useless renewables. The Tory’s cannot hold this man to account as the God awful Theresa May proudly proclaiming that they “will build on it’ (the CCA) and pouring more dumb legislation upon us.
But I guess the above comment by our kind host really does sum up the calibre of politician we have in this country.
September 7, 2024
Was there any sensible costing when May nodded the Net Zero insanity through or Miliband and nearly all MPs voted for the mad Climate Change act (not JR).
September 7, 2024
Indeed. Totally useless politicos.
September 8, 2024
I think only three mp’s voted against. Still to this day there is no explanation why?
September 7, 2024
Prove you can’t afford private school fees, council asks parents
Buckinghamshire council asks mother for evidence of her financial situation in order for her daughter to be considered for state school – reported in the Telegraph.
Tell the council to get lost and find the places for their children just as they do for all the others ( and the bus fares if the school is not local). Sue them if necessary.for the private school fees you have to pay until they provide a place. Stop work and claim benefits too perhaps. A small % of people doing this and they will soon realise that VAT on school fees will cost more than it raises and do huge net harm too. Yet more pure evil from Labour private school use should be encouraged with tax breaks to save the state money and improve education levels. Free and fair freedom of choice and level playing field fair competition please. Not state sector tax and subsidy market rigging as we see in schools, transport, money, finance, universities, housing, long term care, healthcare & the NHS… it does vast harms.
September 7, 2024
Then again. private schools do produce some truly dire lefty politicians like Gove, Starmer, Sunak, Cameron, Blair, Corbyn, Hilary Benn, John Healey, Anneliese Dodds…
September 7, 2024
VAT on school fees is against EU law of course, so Starmer likes Brexit when it suits him.
A question: When VAT is applied to school fees I assume that makes the school VATable so they can claim back VAT on any goods and services they buy ? I wonder by how much that offsets the VAT paid.
September 7, 2024
LL, Buckinghamshire County Council has a Conservative majority, could they be trying to show the futility and foolishness of this Labour policy?
From a pragmatic point of view maybe they should offer to pay the Vat portion as a grant…if they (the Council) can’t make a state school place available which they are obligated to do…
September 7, 2024
@ Lifelogic “…they will soon realise that VAT on school fees will cost more than it raises…” – likely so, although it must be doubted that the policy is driven by financial considerations, impolitic though it would be to confess that.
How soon before university students are expected to pay VAT on their fees?
September 7, 2024
The Green Energy lobby never asks engineers because it knows engineers would explain the infeasibility of their plans. This is precisely how South Australia got to state-wide blackouts in 2016. Had the state government included in their green energy budget the costs of re-engineering the grid it would never have been approved in the state parliament.
And while denigrating Germany and Hungary for their dependence on Russia for fossil fuel energy, they overlook the dependence of Green Energy on China. Scholz’s Germany and the EU calculated that capture of Ukraine would solve the problem, given its vast reserves of rare earths and lithium valued at up to US$12 trillion. Hence their Faustian deal with Zelensky three days after Russia invaded: weapons now (a complete reversal of German policy) in exchange for future EU sovereignty over Ukraine. Von Der Leyen announced in late 2023 that post war reconstruction would be directed (EU sovereignty over Ukraine is now a baseline assumption) towards EU Green Energy and billion dollar funding arrangements are now being made. It will be a bonanza for mainly German industry financed by international aid.
However since 2022 the world has started racing to develop other sources so the value of Ukraine to Germany’s Enegiewende and the EU’s Green Energy has dropped significantly. Nevertheless it is going to be very difficult to weaken China’s dominance and UK’s energy independence remains as elusive as ever.
September 7, 2024
China has recently also signed development deals with Russia for the exploitation of the latter’s Arctic lithium deposits:Barents Observer,1/8/24:”Chinese Developers come to lithium mine in Murmansk.”
“Two mines with major reserves (possibly 75m tons-the biggest in Russia) are ready for development in the Kola peninsular.Chinese company,MCC Intl,has signed an agreement with mine owner,Polar Lithium,a joint venture by NorNickel and Rosatom.MCC possesses its own ore enrichment and lithium technology and will help Russia more quickly create a high tech battery industry.A new mine and processing plant will be ready by 2030.”
In the past week or so we have also seen a Chinese research ice-breaker call in at Murmansk for the first time.As a self-styled near-arctic nation,China is now starting to build them.
Separately,both China and Russia have both signed agreements with Bolivia(which is thought to account for almost a quarter of known lithium reserves):Brasil de Fato,27/6/24:”Agreements with China and Russia to produce lithium may put Bolivia at the centre of coup attempts.”
Well they were right about that!There was a failed attempt at a military coup shortly after.
September 7, 2024
Absolutely correct. Der drang nach Oosten had a purpose. The result you draw does not even include the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces, built up by the West since 2004 and the biggest and best trained and equipped force in Europe, with well fortified towns along what they knew would be the front line, is gone! There are a few pockets of resistance but there is now no Ukrainian Armed Forces to speak off. This is what the Ukrainians are saying themselves.
When this war is over, the leaders and war-moungers of the west must be sat down and forced to watch what they did to the people of Ukraine, just as we made the surviving Germans watch what their forces and people did. I have postures of same.
We need to stamp out the old German politics once and for all. It has destroyed EUROPE again! Etc ed
September 7, 2024
What honest and competent engineer or physicist would want to be involved the lunacy of the net zero “renewables” project unless they were just on the make?
September 7, 2024
Does that mean we can stop wasting our money on Ukraine now it is Von Der liar’s responsibility
September 7, 2024
The millilede’s involvement in Great British Energy merely brings driven illogicality to the table. Rasputin on a mission. Starmer will eventually realise that the MP responsible for the UK,s energy is not fit to boil a kettle.
To deny our own sources of fossil fuel on doctrinaire grounds is the first symptom suggesting all is not well in the man’s thought processes. To then replace it with, from around the World, sources confirms the diagnosis, as the process is more expensive and polluting in use and transport. Wind farms and UK solar would not exist without subsidy/ tax. It might be better to apply the subsidy to the UK end user by financially supporting his own in house electricity production from solar roof panels. It knocks around £600 off my electricity bill each year. To make it really worthwhile the rebate needs to equal the charge for supply.
Clean energy is a worthy aim. I am sure much could be done, via science and engineering to further clean up the effect of using fossil fuel. Seemingly driven by civil serpents with the help of luddite MPs we have cast aside Small Modular Reactors, (Atomic submarine engines), of which around 15 could produce the bulk off our electricity needs. Our erratic production of wind/solar power should be turned to hydrogen production , which after the application of science and engineering could drive our transport cooking and heating needs. All minus the need to invest vast sums on the grid.
Hopefully Starmer will awaken to the political dangers of an uncontrolled fanatic at the helm of GBE. Failure to do so just speeds the end of his time in office. Combined with all his other potential disasters there is a detectable inevitability indicating a shorter term.
September 7, 2024
So the idiot who (sort of) tried to set light to the migrant hotel) was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court to nine years in prison, with a five-year extension on licence. Judge Jeremy Richardson KC said the lives of at least 50 people were endangered and those inside thought they would be killed. (How did he know what those inside thought? I would have thought they would have known perfectly well that they could easily get out even if it did actually catch fire).
So how are the prosecutions of the London Fire Brigade (senior staff) for idiotically telling people to stay in or go back to their flats at Grenfell Tower coming on 70+ deaths? Or indeed the regulators and council green loons who authorised & approved the pointless and dangerous cladding at vast expense, Or indeed the big Pharma funded MHRA for licencing the net harm Covid Vaccines (even for people who had no need for then even had they been safe and effective)? This has killed and injured many tens of thousands.
But two Tier Kier assures us we do not have two tier justice or two Tier policing and Sunak who assures us and the House that vaccines were “unequivocally” safe. Have they corrected the record yet as the evidence is totally overwhelming?
September 7, 2024
Worse still this idiotic government is set to release thousands of offenders, some of which are serious criminals, onto the unsuspecting public. Every death, sexual assault and crime committed by these people is equally the fault of this Labour government. Under Rayner’s latest policy, these people could be housed in your area and given priority for housing ahead of decent hard-working British people. How many of these criminals are foreigners? Why are they not being deported? I don’t feel safer knowing that dangerous offenders are back on our streets to make room in prison for people who have posted hurty words on social media but who wouldn’t have physically assaulted anyone. Even the probation service has warned that they aren’t prepared to deal with the onslaught of offenders being released and that re-offending rates will be very high. Starmer must be held accountable for every crime committed due to this early-release scheme.
September 7, 2024
I hear that the government may be planning to send prisoners to Estonian prisons to ease the capacity problem. A counter argument seems to be that we would then be liable for transport costs for family visits for prisoners “loved ones”
At the same time, we are releasing others early to create prison space for new offenders.
Meanwhile, there are many hundreds (or Thousands?) of foreign born prisoners in our facilities who do not qualify for paid family visits
Why not send these foreigners to Estonia, keep the releasees in place until their allotted time is up and deport the foreigners direct to their country of origin when they have served their sentence
September 8, 2024
10,000+ foreign criminals in our jails. And many more left roaming the streets.
September 7, 2024
Indeed far too many evil & violent criminals, drug dealers, machete users and people with violent & serious mental heath issues on the streets already. So many cases come to court after murders and other offences with very long previous & where it was obvious to everyone involved they should never have been on the streets. But nothing was done as different parts of the state pushed them pillar to post. They think they are saving money for one department and the lives lost are a price worth paying – but not in the long run – what does an average murder and murderer cost the state in the end?
September 7, 2024
Drax generates about 5-6% of the UK’s electricity “fuelled by sustainable biomass” they claim.
By “sustainable biomass” they mean chopped down American forests imported of diesel ships and trucks. It produced more CO2 per KWH than burning old coal would and does more environmental harm too. So Ed Miliband how is this going to be replaced?
I suppose you can “renew” the trees in about 40 years but then you will I assume chop them down and burn them again I assume? Can we have honest CO2 accounting if we must account for this harmless and beneficial plant tree and crop food?
September 7, 2024
It also relies on government subsidy, £800 million to date. The biggest con of all times.
September 7, 2024
Not necessarily American forests, Lifelogic. Drax recently got caught being “economic with the actualite” about the source/nature of the wood they were burning and were landed with a hefty fine …. which will, of course, be passed to capitive energy consumers to pay.
September 7, 2024
Net Zero policies must impose punitive costs and daily inconveniences on the British people to the point where they finally realise that voting for the three main parties is an act of appalling self-destruction.
Germany, 1933 should sit as an example of what happens when you vote for politicians you don’t understand
September 7, 2024
hear hear
September 7, 2024
Many folk concerned about food security and badgers are disappointed by the new government’s decision not to immediately halt the cruel and unnecessary culling
Instead Daniel Zeichner, the new Minister of State for Food Security and Rural Affairs appears to have capitulated to demands by the NFU that badger culling continues for a further 5 years – whilst yet more scientific studies on bovine TB (bTB) gather more data
More scientific studies are unnecessary and the Minister should stop the badger cull immediately. Previous studies have shown conclusively that badgers become infected with bTB by foraging for worms, snails etc on pasture which has been “fertilised” with infected cow slurry. Analysis of the 200,000 badgers shot by DEFRA in the cull shows that less than 7% of them are infected with bTB; in many areas where badgers have been exterminated (Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset) herds of cows remain infected.
A programme of badger and cattle vaccination should be introduced straight away. Farmers need to improve their animal husbandry to prevent cross-infection with bTB from within their herds. Which of course will increase their costs and reduce profits.
September 7, 2024
You think if farmers’ costs increase it will reduce their profits ? Why ? It won’t of course, they will simply increase their prices which will mean you and I pay more.
September 7, 2024
I notice you’re not joining in with the subject matter. China has mined 398million tons of coal in the last year and imported a further 280million tons. They are obviously stockpiling just in case the supply of renewable electricity doesn’t quite meet their needs. Could you explain this policy and how it might reflect the dangers we face in the UK?
September 9, 2024
China’s coal production and consumption is vastly greater. Reuters reported they mined 4.66bn tonnes in 2023 although a lot of it was lower calorific value lignite. They consume over half the global total.
September 7, 2024
You going to vaccinate the badgers? Don’t miss one will you 😂🤣
September 8, 2024
Judging from the number of roadkill badgers I see when I’m out and about, they most certainly haven’t been exterminated in Dorset.
There are active badger setts within walking distance of my home.
September 7, 2024
But Miliband has faith. He’s a zealot. So the facts, practicalities, money and physics are unimportant.
Just as they weren’t for May, Johnson, Sunak and most “Conservative” MPs who supported and voted for the lunacy.
Don’t forget Johnson announced we would “become the Saudi Arabia of wind” as he sent Sharma out to blow up our reliable coal-fired power stations.
Not one of them governed/governs in the interests of the British people.
September 7, 2024
He and Starma have actually got a B at physics A level which should be enough to just about realise the total insanity of it.
So are they really so daft they actually have fallen for net zero? Or are they lying, on the make, suffering group think or just think there are votes in it so do not care.
September 7, 2024
How many times does it have to be said! The UK creates <1% of global Co2. Milliband's madness, even it worked, would be a total waste of time, effort, money and lives. A 1% saving that will be taken up by China and others in months or quite possibly weeks.
The whole thing is a childish virtue signalling idiocy.
September 7, 2024
Plus the agenda they push does not even save CO2 at best it just exports it with the jobs and a bit more CO2 is a net good anyway! EV vehicles certainly increase CO2 no doubt about that at all.
September 7, 2024
Ever since the Ukraine war began, the Russians have bombed Ukraine civilian infrastructure. Hospitals, air raid shelters, railway stations evacuating civilians, schools, kindergartens, residential apartment blocks, electricity generation etc have all been targeted. After each particularly bad attack involving heavy civilian casualties, Putin and his lackeys have threatened NATO countries with retaliation, nuclear strikes etc if more western weapon systems are supplied. This rhetoric frightens nobody except the Biden administration.
Whilst one must acknowledge the $billions in ammunition, materiel and ordnance that the Americans have provided Ukraine, much of it is – always – too little, too late. Like the tanks. Or the F-16’s. And always provided with restrictions on use because Biden is obsessed with “escalation”
Germany should give Ukraine it’s long range bunker busting Taurus missile with no restrictions – and we should similarly give them the long range version of Storm Shadow. Countless civilians have lost their lives because of Biden’s prevarication. It’s time the Americans grew some balls, never mind the backbone
September 7, 2024
And of course, the coward Putin cried ‘foul’ when a little piece of his country was invaded, fully expecting no retaliation against his cowardly and criminal attacks, which of course he was right about – the West tying Ukraine’s hands behind its back in case Putin had a hissy fit. He has just proved that his army is pretty useless and cannot quell a smaller country after nearly three years let alone start a world war. I doubt his backers in China would let him do it anyway. Time Russia had a bit of its own medicine.
September 7, 2024
@SK, I see no reason to spend any more of my money on getting Ukranians and Russians killed.
Our intervention in Ukraine since 2014 has proved as successful as our interventions in Libya, Syria, Iran, Afghanistan and countless other places around the globe. It brings with it the extra frisson of the possibility of triggering a nuclear war, which wasn’t the case with the other conflicts. So much for progress.
September 7, 2024
@ Sakara Gold – would the escalation that you propose see a swift end to the war at all? Might present non-beligerent countries be drawn in meanwhile?
September 7, 2024
What are you going on anout – nothing to do with us. I do not care!
September 8, 2024
“Whilst one must acknowledge the $billions in ammunition, materiel and ordnance that the Americans have provided Ukraine, much of it is – always – too little, too late.”
——-
A wonderful strategy …… for keeping the war going as long as possible. I’m sure the American Military Industrial Complex (and the British one) is benefiting enormously ……. as taxpayers are forced to fund replacement armaments.
A war of attrition is far more profitable for the AMIC than a swift one.
September 7, 2024
I’m looking forward to the day when the power cuts start. This is the day when the people of the UK will wake up to the lunacy that has infected our governments over the last few decades. I’m as prepared as I can be for this day. I have my wood burner, solar generator and bolt-hole in Spain.
September 7, 2024
Power cuts and doubling of household energy bills and enforced smart-meters etc
September 7, 2024
Plus the whole exercise just pointless virtue signalling. Climateologists agree that Carbon dioxide is not and cannot be the sole driver behind global warming (though they never say so outside their meetings). Even if it was, the UK’s contribution is negligible.
September 7, 2024
That big yellow ball in the sky, its intensity, our proximity to it, angle of the Earth, jet streams, clouds and ocean currents and temperature’s have more impact on climate than the 0.04% of CO2. Local weather is also effected by building on forests, especially the rain forests, building on flood plains etc. I don’t know why they picked on CO2 but it was totally stupid. A trace gas that is essential for all plant life on Earth.
Where is the evidence other than incomplete computer models that CO2 is responsible for anything??? Lots of times in our past when CO2 was much higher. Evidence that CO2 content FOLLWS any changes not causal. I guess we need to follow the money or is it international and Government grants that are only given to the climate change zealots!!! Let us pray!
September 7, 2024
To get the companies to supply offshore wind capacity in the latest bidding round Milliband had to guarantee that electricity would be bought from them for £75 to £82/MWh in today’s prices. Currently the wholesale cost of electricity is £84/MWh. So this new capacity will not provide cheap electricity at all and it looks like my promised £300 price reduction will never materialise. I believe Milliband had to increase the subsidy offered by 50% over and above what the Conservatives were offering to attract bidders and even so only a minority of the offers were taken up by bidders. I believe most (or all) of the successful bidders were foreign companies who I assume will make massive profits based on this high level of taxpayer subsidy – how about a windfall tax on them ?
September 7, 2024
RG :
The wholesale market price used by the government’s LCCC (Low Carbon Contracts Company) for calculating subsidy payments, has averaged £58.34/MWh between April and August 2024, so £75-£82/MWhr is well above today’s market prices. It is also above the prices quoted by RR for their SMRs.
But even more expensive are the grid distribution, storage and stability costs needed for renewables plus running the gas generators as a backup system if reliability is required. The costs for national and local grid upgrades alone are expected to come to £400bn.
September 7, 2024
It would appear the latest thinking is to put the subsidies for electricity on to the price for gas and therefore Miliband will be able to say that electricity prices are £300 less that they would have been.
September 9, 2024
CFDs are exempt from windfall taxes. The contracts contain explicit provisions for compensation in the event of a Qualifying Change in Law that damages their profitability. They were explicitly excluded from the Generator Levy because of that.
September 7, 2024
This looks like a re-run of the early Cameron years, when because of laziness or incompetence he gave full rein to Andrew Lansley to re-organise and cock up the Health Service and leave us with the crap we have now. Then the perpetrator gets the sack, goes into the Lords and sails off serenely into the sunset with no penalty. Later on, they become ‘elder statesmen’ (Johnny Major springs to mind after all his cockups and nearly bankrupting the country.)
This is even more serious as our whole future depends upon energy at reasonable prices and the de-carbonisation mantra is a scam costing probably trillions with no effect on the climate, not just in the cost of trying to do it, but lost production, power cuts, deaths from cold and goodness knows what else as well as pauperising the public. This shows that Starmer is not fit to be PM any more than Cameron was, he has just let a zealot with no proven ideas loose to do his worst. Milliband is a loser and a loser is the last person to be in control of anything at all. I would not let this man run the dog wardens and disaster for us (not for him, of course) awaits.
September 8, 2024
Very nicely put.
September 7, 2024
I think there’s a chance that by 2030 the grid will be even less “decarbonised” than it is today with our current nuclear capacity closing and no new nuclear on stream. It depends how you account for the massive levels of interconnector power we have to buy from the EU I suppose – wasn’t that up above 20% of our total recently ?
September 7, 2024
Ed Miliband’s crazy ways need to be fully exposed, so that even the Labour Party realise how worthless, wasteful and dangerous their policies are.
They deserve the same fate as the Ed Stone: crumbled to dust out of the way of harm.
September 7, 2024
“How can National Grid reply without revealing three truths. There is no way the U.K. can fully decarbonise its electricity by 2030. The cost in investment money would be colossal. With big subsidies energy will be dearer not cheaper.”
I assume they won’t reveal those truths because the Honours system and other corruptive devices will be used to get National Grid bosses to give an answer that Milliband wants. A cursory look at NG’s Board suggests none of them are yet “honoured”.
September 7, 2024
The German Government since 2010 has invested ‘Trillions’ in their own version of Great British Energy and expects to have to pump in another ‘2 Trillion’ by 2030. So far, they have seen little headway in the movement to NetZero, in fact other than spend taxpayers’ money there has been no movement.
So, GB Energy creating a whopping great £8.3 billion ‘Black Hole’ what could it achieve? The only rational is it is for pay back to Miliband’s friends and Labour sponsors.
From what we know so far, the only jobs being created are assembly workers of foreign produced components for foreign owned companies. As such there is no gain only a loss for the UK Taxpayer, all the money going into these projects is being syphoned off abroad, the UK as usual we be left with nothing.
A Miliband ideological vanity project supported by Starmer and Reeves funded by the UK Taxpayer
September 7, 2024
This trend of destruction is going to be with us for another 10 years or more, then it is doubtful that any one that supports the UK will get the chance before they are locked-up, freedom of speech is banned, dissent is outlawed and the Faux Conservative MPs support this suppression.
The faux Tories are looking for more of the same with divisive continuity candidates. CCHQ and the 1922 Committee along with the Liberal Democrats serving as Conservatives now embedded in Parliament will block all attempts of a Conservative getting to the front.
September 7, 2024
What an gigantic funding shortfall. It is inevitable we will pay for this with tax rises.
Labour’s 2030 decarbonisation agenda and its speed is demented. Put together, their plans will incur that vast funding shortfall, will make immaterial difference to global CO2 emissions, will incur GBP billions in opportunity cost (as wind power is a big mistake and we should be focusing on nuclear power instead. Although nuclear power incurs large initial capital outlay it is efficient to run operationally, it has infinite supply and it has zero CO2 emissions. The energy produced can get sold too internationally making it a valuable export).
France has always been a leader in this field and currently generates about 70% of its energy from nuclear power stations. I believe they also make about EUR 3bn a year exporting their nuclear energy. They have been positioned like this for decades and we should have been too. The best time to have done this would have been from the 1950s onwards. The second best time is now.
The Labour government should ditch this 2030 unaffordable farce and plan our long- term energy generation properly.
September 7, 2024
As I write (09:26) the 31 GW of installed wind power is providing just 1.4 GW, 5% of demand. The 16 GW of installed solar capacity is providing 1 GW. They know that Net Zero will not work. The intention is to de-industrialise and impoverish the Western democracies and control the populations by following the UK FIRES’ and NGESO’s plans for the rationing of energy, food and transport. It’s euphemistically called “customer engagement” and “behavioural change”.
This is also evidenced by the climate activists having no concerns over the CO2 emissions from China, India, Indonesia et al and their battles against nuclear, the only low emitting CO2 source of power that is affordable, abundant and reliable.
They know there is no need for Net Zero as CAGW caused by increasing levels of CO2, whether natural or anthropogenic, will simply not happen because of IR saturation. There is already sufficient CO2 in the atmosphere to produce 99% of all the greenhouse gas warming that is possible. So adding further CO2 to the atmosphere makes negligible difference. 1.2 degrees C according to the IPCC (WG1 P95) and 0.7 degrees C according to Professors Happer & Wijngaarden for a doubling of CO2 which will take 170 years at the current rate of increase.
We need a referendum on Net Zero to stop it before it destroys our energy, economy, wealth, environment and military capability.
September 7, 2024
PS :
It not just the West who are being attacked using Net Zero by those whom Jordon Petersen call “The Masters of the Universe” but also the poor countries of the world by denying them the access to capital/loans which would enable them to build the cheap, abundant and reliable electricity supplies that they need to industrialise and develop and thus lift themselves out of poverty and which can only come from the use of hydrocarbon fuels.
So not only are these “Masters of the Universe” sabotaging the West’s wealth they are also causing the conditions for mass emigration out of the poor countries to the West in order to cause global social disruption.
September 9, 2024
Rather than a referendum I think we need a programme of public education about the realities. A referendum would then be redundant.
September 7, 2024
Well said!
14 years to work it all out and he still passes the buck to the national Grid to work out for him – This is well beyond socialist incompetence!
So, our lives are being expensively ruined by a dogma called netzero, that those in government do not understand, nor do they know how to implement or how much it will cost, except that it will force most of us into poverty, financial and energy.
Has there ever been a bigger set of fools running our country?
September 7, 2024
Sir John has just outlined the eternal truth about politics – namely most of those running the show don’t care for details – and those that do know the details are dismissed as “Swots”.
September 7, 2024
I would like to know whether the plan to build more gas fired power stations is still in place, to replace aging ones due for decommissioning soon.
Net zero may be the rhetoric, but don’t underestimate the government’s ability to say one thing and do another.
September 7, 2024
I have just read the letter. We are in for much entertainment. We must hope the reply is published too.
I note with interest and alarm Ed’s colleague is “Head of Mission Control”. What is it about the Miliband brothers (David of the International Rescue charity) that calls forth references to the mid-1960’s TV programme “Thunderbirds” (filmed using a form of electronic marionette puppetry ) featuring an organization named International Rescue run from Mission Control? Should we blame the parents?
September 8, 2024
Yes. It’s almost like they’re deliberately mocking “the peasants” who have to pay for their destructive policies.
Sunak always reminded me of Scott Tracey from Thunderbirds. He had the same nodding head and gestures as the marionette. The similarity was uncanny.
September 7, 2024
Waste of time attempting to find a rational basis for Labour’s approach, it is based on feels and opinions not fact or experience – things must be so because they want them to be so.
There is no Labour plan to address energy or immigration or economic growth because that requires work and rational planning based on experience over a long period of time. The have no time for that as it reduces their fun time in Ibitha.
What should really concern everyone is that the Conservatives were exactly the same though maybe somewhere different in the sun .. no sustainable enrgy production plan, no plan or programme to tackle immigration and the only economic growth was increased dependence on offshore production and energy.
Still the barrow boys in the City, now decamping the Middle East etc, are doing OK so all is well in the Conservative world.
September 7, 2024
Same ole, same ole with the UK Political Class, this shower as with the last they lack intelligence and common sense. To have a mountain of money to spend on ideological vanity projects there has to be earnings, a country that earns that creates wealth. Tax as perceived by those that find their way into Parliament is in reality nothing more than the removal of money from the economy, stalling the economy causing decline – they ALL want to take the means of a future away from the Country.
Sunak and Hunt, were clueless as are Starmer and Reeves. Then of course we see the Marxist Miliband camp that have one mode the destruction of Society, the UK and its existence as their priority. Everything individually done by those that have run to the Blair Doctrine, Brown, Cameron, May, Johnson, Sunak and now Starmer has put destruction ahead of building, put decline ahead of growth. The UniParty writ Large, the hate of the UK writ Large. 25 years of moral destruction by those with their heads in the clouds.
September 7, 2024
GB Energy is but a side show, no money is being earnt to fund it. It has already shown that it will increase UK Energy prices beyond economic sense, not reduce them as it is spun. But then again once a Marxist always a Marxists, destroy Society so as to build in the family’s image.
September 9, 2024
I see that the King has probably agreed to let the Crown Estate become a major investor in renewables. The plan is for them to borrow from government at “commercial” rates to fund it. This is a sort of PFI of nationalisation with the twist that it could bankrupt the Crown if it goes wrong. That might be an outcome that some government ministers would be happy to see.
September 7, 2024
The Media recently have been reporting that Germany Industry is in crisis and its major players are looking to relocate abroad due to the high energy costs being imposed. – this what Miliband and Starmer, Labour and the faux Conservatives want for the UK. We are promised NetZero at all costs as long as we don’t make and earn anything!
The World we keep upping CO2 production to cope with their export demands, and the fanciful non-existent problems the World faces will continue
September 7, 2024
It pains me to say it, but Mr Milliband is an idiot. I was invited to a charity function at the House of Commons many years ago. About 500 people from various charities were present. Mr Milliband was then Minister for the Third Sector, as Labour called it then. He was invited to come and speak to us, as charities are part of the third sector.
I have never heard such rubbish spouted in my life. Yet now this incompetent individual is in charge of the UK’s energy policy. The reason he did no research when in opposition is because that would have shown what a farce Net Zero/Climate Change/Global Warming is. But where is the MP, conservative, labour or anything else who will stand up in the house and say it is nonsense?
September 7, 2024
This is what Miliband and Starmer wish for the UK – https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/sep/07/an-earthquake-at-volkswagen-and-a-crisis-for-germany.
And VW gets is energy from their own coal fired power stations.
Even JLR are at it Sunak handed their owner £400 million of taxpayer money to pair up with the Chinese to import Chinese components for assembly in the UK. UK are excluded from the technology and ownership, its a front for exporting UK Taxpayer money. There is no UK growth on so-called new green industries and technology, it is allowed in the UK as long as it remains fully foreign owned, and tax payer money is exported.
Like taxes remove the money from the economy and send it abroad ensures there is no UK economy.
September 7, 2024
Sitting here watching the Goodwood Revival on YouTube(Great as always) all this now ancient tech, using internal combustion engines. Their production cost in CO2 terms is well behind us, yet they are running on sustainable renewable energy net gain of World CO2 is a big fat zero. It’s the same across the pond with IndyCar 100% sustainable renewable fuel.
The Marxists in the UK Parliament don’t like the fact that there are other ways of achieving the results said to be required. The Doctrine is ‘buy’ EV’s, buy Chinese or else. Destruction first is the UK Policy. Total lack of intelligence and foresight.
September 7, 2024
There is only one way out of this predicament; SMRs.
Even so SMRs cannot replace old nuclear and gas as soon as 2030 but every effort must now be concentrated on them as soon as possible. No point adding more and more renewables until we have a constant 24h power source to back them up.
September 9, 2024
Supposedly Miliband is now thinking of SMRs for Wylfa. It is not yet clear what his new nuclear strategy amounts to, but it needs to include reform of the way that the ONR operate. Currently they are set up to obstruct nuclear development and increase its cost unnecessarily, a mindset imposed by previous anti nuclear energy ministers.
September 7, 2024
Power cuts plus the doubling of household energy bills and enforced smart-meters etc
September 7, 2024
Probably if National Grid reply in a way that is embarrassing to the Government, it will be used as an excuse to re-nationalise them, so the whole thing can be taken forward out of the public eye, except for the bill of course.
September 7, 2024
Eco mentalist zealotry meet reality
September 7, 2024
It was so obvious years ago that Ed was a lightweight entity in a smart suit, looked young and trendy on camera but had zero street-cred outside Labour’s privileged elite, fast tracked based on his father’s surname into a safe seat.
He is blind to financial matters and should never have been in charge of Energy or anything else, shutting down Britain’s efficient, strategic power stations “betting the farm” on unproven Plan B to generate similar and greater growing demands for power.
He doesn’t inspire confidence and would be challenged look under the hood of a car, never mind anything else. If he is Labour’s best offering it gives us insight into how this is going to pan out. Tragic really perverse.
Perverse too that we are deliberately blindsided on the full cost of the illegal immigration which is the real financial black hole. Instead taxpayers being blamed for being pensioners, being savers, being prudent and voting for Brexit and even voting for other parties!
I don’t accept Labour’s attempts to give us all guilt trips. Pathetic nonsense!
September 8, 2024
Claire Couthino did a very good counter piece in the commons the other day focused on the impracticality of the 2030 goals, the lack of plans & costs, and impacts on UK based supply chains. Part of it pointed out the number of electricity providers that had failed, the only intervention from Milliband’s cult I heard was that these were retail and not generators .. who of course only didn’t fail because they were subsidised to ludicrous levels.
September 9, 2024
They were ignoring the reality of significant volumes of failed CFD projects.
September 9, 2024
It is not widely appreciated that some 3.5GW of capacity, mostly wind but also some solar, originally promised in the AR4 CFD auction had been abandoned ahead of the AR6 CFD auction. Of that, over 2GW relates to CFDs terminated because the companies could not proceed as the projects were unviable at the prices bid and the under the counter extra subsidies from devices like REGOs are insufficient to make up the difference. The rest is “permitted capacity reductions ” of up to 25% of the original capacity contracted that could be rebid into the AR6 auction for a higher price. The result is that the renewables investment programme is now a long way behind.