Frayava

Does anyone know when the 50 mile limit leading to the A38(heading South) will ever be finished? I have heard and read conflicting times but they just seem to go on and on and on and.........

If you join the Labour Party then you can have a vote.

By July, Fiddlers Ferry, Longannets, Rugeley and Ferry bridge are off the grid. Drakelow and Ironbridge have closed recently. This equates to circa 5,500mw. Coal at the time of writing is 8770mw (which I assume includes Eggbborough) and wind supplying 2590mw.

Two stations now due to close by June this year. Yes... this year. That's 2500mw that wont be available for next winter.

I would seriously consider renting for a year so as to get yourself and partner settled. This should put you in a better situation with lenders. Better option than buying something in a place you don't really want to live and when ready to move you will find difficult to sell.

So having started this topic, what are we left with. Wind contributing but intermittently. Solar similarly. Gas the main generator but operating at full capacity and with no new gas stations anywhere in the pipeline to replace coal / supplement wind and solar. 8% of our requirements being imported from France, Holland and Ireland. Coal still contributing 16% of requirements. Nuclear with Hinckley looking increasingly doubtful and ageing stations (like coal) due to close. What a mess and in line with the report from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, I can only see a significant shortfall in years to come. Get your candles bought!

And when the " storm" hits on Tuesday / Wednesday there will be periods when the wind strength will be such that the turbines will need to be switched off in case of damage. Gas is contributing 34% so what is going to replace that on the renewable front?

A point to note the re the above comments is coal and gas supplies can be accessed whenever needed. Out put can be turned up or down as required. This cannot be said of wind/ solar / water or anything similar. Press a button at one of the coal fired stations and there is an instant response there when you need it.

All the above is very nice but.... last year two coal fired power stations closed. This year Ferrybridge is closing. Fiddlers Ferry did not win anything in the capacity market so, like others its future is uncertain. My guess is that the coal fired power stations will start to close within three - five years max. So that is the time frame to accept the technological challenges alluded to, remedy them, build nuclear power stations etc etc

Not so sure. In terms of building nuclear reactors "we" really means anything but. In reality it is the French and Chinese who have the ability and finance to support such projects. The costs involved are horrendous and require massive support from the Government for investors to even think of putting money in: currently circa £69kwh as opposed to the £19kwh agreed in the recent capacity auction. In terms of coal we still have the engineers and skills able to build and operate the new technologies required to reduce carbon emissions. My fear is that these people will go the way of those similarly employed when the UK were leaders in nuclear energy in the fifties and sixties. There are huge reserves of coal in the UK which as time moves on and technologies improve offers an opportunity for easier extraction together with all the employment and investment that would arise. Around the world there is a glut of coal which given the current oil price, USA fracking etc shows no signs of reducing either in volume or price in the near to medial term.

No we don't. We do what most of the other EU countries are doing which is to build Clean coal fired stations with the inbuilt technology to reduce carbon emissions. The technology is available but we are only able to retrofit it to stations that were built thirty/forty years ago which is both expensive and inefficient.

As I write coal is producing 28.5% of generating power, gas 46.8% making a total of 75.3% of required generation. Wind currently providing 0.3% despite all the billions of pounds spent on supporting it. So what do we do in the future on similarly cold days, with little wind and not much sun? Nuclear 16,2% but a long time before this starts to increase Even accepting technology is moving on that is one heck of a gap to fill.

Aren't you the big I am? As opposed to being woken up you really should grow up.

It does though. Perception is everything and if Leeds is perceived , rightly or wrongly, as a de facto capital then it attracts interest. This can result in increased investment, companies relocating there, the best and brightest being attracted to live there and so on. I honestly believe that Sheffield is becoming a back water and has lost its identity. The other major northern cities are known for something - tourism, nightlife, finance, shopping, sport etc. I don't see Sheffield as being regarded as a leader in any of those things.

At risk of sounding like an old f**t, you wonder sometimes at the mental fragility of some players. It appears that players across a lot of teams and by the sounds of it, specifically Utd, just don't have the mental toughness to get out there and battle. I don't mean just physically but that toughness that makes you do the run back with the lad you are marking rather than in a half hearted manner. Where does that come from? You could say that a good manager will create a team ethic that almost shames the non triers. This, I think, is the challenge for Adkins. If and when that can be put in place then the team will improve and just as importantly so does the relationship with the fans who appreciate effort and commitment.