PowerSwitch

It appears that E.On are planning to shelve Kingsnorth

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2 ... er-station

Due to reduced demand caused by the recession apparently

It would seem that "carbon capture and storage" either isn't economically, technically or politically viable (or all three).

E.ON first applied for permission to build the Kingsnorth facility in 2006, but subsequently asked for the decision to be deferred until ministers had decided whether it must be fitted with carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology.

Earlier this year, Ed Miliband, the environment secretary, said new plants such as Kingsnorth would have to trap and store a significant portion of their emissions, which would significantly raise the cost. How this cost would be met has yet to be decided. The government has pledged significant funds to the winner of a competition to develop a CCS plant by 2015

Perhaps I should start an oil lamp or candle manufacture business.

Why build a power station in England when you can build one in France and sell the electricity over here at an extortionate price. This keeps the jobs in France and bleeds England dry. That's what I would do if I was CEO of French EON

Isn't E.On a German company? Anyway, the point stands.

The rights and wrongs of building a coal-fired power station with or without carbon capture aside, what strikes me as so sad and silly is how our government has farmed out our future to the market, and to foreign companies to boot. Why, oh why, can't we have a government with the guts and intelligence to take decisions on the future of the infrastructure of this country?

Why do we vote in such incompetents, or puppets of the market?

I know, I know. Don't bother replying. It's because they bribe the ignorant.

Amusing that E.on are saying that they don't need it because the recession means the energy demand won't be there.

biffvernon wrote:Amusing that E.on are saying that they don't need it because the recession means the energy demand won't be there.

There are two potential outcomes. Either they're going to wait for a Tory government in the hope that they don't give a hoot about the climate, or they'll wait for people to start crying about brown-outs and build without the carbon capture.

biffvernon wrote:Amusing that E.on are saying that they don't need it because the recession means the energy demand won't be there.

Yeah, this is very strange. Especially as we know gas is continuing its rapid decline and the resulting demand on imported gas will only be met at higher average prices than we pay today. The large combustion plant directive closing some old coal by 2012 and nuclear decommission is taking off a few GW by 2014 (Wylfa in 2010 -980MW, Heysham 1 in 2014, -1160MW, Hartlepool in 2014 -1190MW).

Hmm, they are flat out wrong to say we don't need more generating capacity until 2016, unless they are incredibly pessimistic about the future UK economy. Given the closures that are already in the pipeline, for Kingsnorth not to be 'needed' the recession will have to continue ever deeper, any plans of increased electrification of transport will need to be abandoned, high electricity use industry will have to leave the UK and electricity prices will have to rise. They see the UK as a basket case, rapidly developing third world country and don't want to make any investments here?

Maybe this is exactly what they expect but aren't able to say! Or maybe they are just afraid of climate change activism? Their stated thinking doesn't stack up.

Meanwhile, up near Doncaster:

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/21/20091008/tu ... 23e80.html

The European Commission is set to back the building of a new coal-fired power station in Britain to the tune of £165 million. Skip related content
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EU set to back new UK power station .MEP Chris Davies said an announcement is likely in days - with the cash subsidy expected to go to a new "clean coal" plant at Hatfield, near Doncaster.

Mr Davies was speaking as energy group E.On announced it was shelving controversial plans for a coal power station at Kingsnorth in Kent.

E.On cited falling electricity demand for deferring the project, but the Liberal Democrat MEP said the company's failure to win a similar EU grant could have been behind the decision.

This sounds more plausible than the E.on line.

The Times wrote:E.ON’s decision to freeze plans for a new coal plant at Kingsnorth in Kent for up to three years

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/b ... 870284.ece
Emphasis mine.

And now the new coal plant for Hunterston is looking doubtful:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/gla ... 302913.stm

Given the repartee a few posts ago, one wonders how much of this "pulling-out" game is a type of brinkmanship/blackmail for HMG funds.