and these guys run nuclear power stations....
in [UK Motorcycles]
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From: crn on 8 Dec 2009 21:51 In uk.rec.motorcycles Rob Kleinschmidt <Rkleinsch1216128(a)aol.com> wrote: > > Baseload plants don't stop and start very well, so > they normally run near full load 24/7. > > Why try to save power at 10pm in the first place ? > > Is there some kind of generation which gets throttled > back or is the power diverted to some other use ? Pumped storage hydroelectric plants. There are 2 of the beasts in Snowdonia, water is pumped up the mountain off peak and then used for rapid response peak lopping, for example when the adverts come on at the end of Corrie. Not sure, but there are probably a few more elsewhere. -- 03 GS500K2 76 Honda 400/4 project 68 Bantam D14/4 Sport (Classic) 06 Sukida SK50QT (Slanty eyed shopping trolley)
From: Rob Kleinschmidt on 8 Dec 2009 23:55 On Dec 8, 6:51 pm, c...(a)NOSPAM.netunix.com wrote: > In uk.rec.motorcycles Rob Kleinschmidt <Rkleinsch1216...(a)aol.com> wrote: > > > > > Baseload plants don't stop and start very well, so > > they normally run near full load 24/7. > > > Why try to save power at 10pm in the first place ? > > > Is there some kind of generation which gets throttled > > back or is the power diverted to some other use ? > > Pumped storage hydroelectric plants. > There are 2 of the beasts in Snowdonia, water is pumped up the mountain > off peak and then used for rapid response peak lopping, for example > when the adverts come on at the end of Corrie. > > Not sure, but there are probably a few more elsewhere. Interesting. Maybe a couple TWH of storage ? The one plant I'd managed to google looked like about 75% efficiency. How does the storage compare to base and peak loads ? Had one friend who was interviewing at a startup looking to make large scale flow batteries for some kind of distributed grid connected storage. Dunno if he's working there now or not.
From: Andy Bonwick on 9 Dec 2009 03:44 On Tue, 8 Dec 2009 15:49:45 -0800 (PST), Rob Kleinschmidt <Rkleinsch1216128(a)aol.com> wrote: >On Dec 7, 8:36 am, Andy Bonwick <nos...(a)bonwick.me.uk> wrote: >> On Mon, 07 Dec 2009 16:32:22 +0000, Andy Bonwick >> >> <nos...(a)bonwick.me.uk> wrote: >> >> snip> >> >> The footnote thief removed this: >> >> (1) I can certainly remember the days of scheduled power cuts and no >> tv after 10pm. Without nuclear power we'd have had them for at least >> one period since then. > >That doesn't really make much sense. > >At 10pm, it seems as if you'd be running baseload >plants anyway, so it's not clear what's being saved. > It was (imho) done by the government to break down public support for striking coal miners who were picketing coal fired power stations. >Baseload plants don't stop and start very well, so >they normally run near full load 24/7. > >Why try to save power at 10pm in the first place ? > >Is there some kind of generation which gets throttled >back or is the power diverted to some other use ? As stated above, it was a political decision that was designed to create hardship and create ill feeling towards the striking miners. These days the UK is never very far from power cuts because most of our older power stations are past the end of their design life. I spend about 8 months of the year 'fire fighting' in power stations and get to see exactly how tired they are. It's not hard to upgrade the rotating plant, it's the boilers and associated pipework that causes the problems. We simply don't have the supplies of heavy wall main steam pipework to keep up with the demands.
From: Pete Fisher on 9 Dec 2009 04:01 In communiqu� <f6ouh5du34bl1g1ojsdd04jtmeun7r97st(a)4ax.com>, Andy Bonwick <nospam(a)bonwick.me.uk> cast forth these pearls of wisdom > >These days the UK is never very far from power cuts because most of >our older power stations are past the end of their design life. I >spend about 8 months of the year 'fire fighting' in power stations and >get to see exactly how tired they are. It's not hard to upgrade the >rotating plant, it's the boilers and associated pipework that causes >the problems. We simply don't have the supplies of heavy wall main >steam pipework to keep up with the demands. <googles> I see that even Accles and Pollock don't make their own tube now. TBF their real expertise was always at the other end of the spectrum. -- +-------------------------------------------------------------------+ | Pete Fisher at Home: Peter(a)ps-fisher.demon.co.uk | | Voxan Roadster Yamaha WR250Z/Supermoto "Old Gimmer's Hillclimber" | | Gilera GFR * 2 Moto Morini 2C/375 Morini 350 "Forgotten Error" | +-------------------------------------------------------------------+
From: Simon Wilson on 9 Dec 2009 04:47
Andy Bonwick wrote: > > These days the UK is never very far from power cuts because most of > our older power stations are past the end of their design life. I > spend about 8 months of the year 'fire fighting' in power stations and > get to see exactly how tired they are. It's not hard to upgrade the > rotating plant, it's the boilers and associated pipework that causes > the problems. We simply don't have the supplies of heavy wall main > steam pipework to keep up with the demands. <intensifies search for decent diesel genny> -- /Simon |