UK energy system is “screwed” says Octopus Energy CEO
https://www.techradar.com/pro/uk-energy-system-is-screwed-says-octopus-energy-ceo
Posted by 457655676
UK energy system is “screwed” says Octopus Energy CEO
https://www.techradar.com/pro/uk-energy-system-is-screwed-says-octopus-energy-ceo
Posted by 457655676
10 Comments
The trouble is, as that independent report stated a few months back, ‘In the UK it is extremely difficult to build anything, anywhere, ever, for any reason’.
HS2 had over 8500 separate court cases (almost all were also appealed) from people trying to stop it – prosecution, defence, judges, court staff and everything else paid for by the taxpayer. And now passengers travelling from London to Birmingham will see a total of 7 minutes actual sky, total for the entire trip, for the cost of billions and billions and billions in getting tunnelling and batcaves and tree replacement programmes done, so that basically no-one has to see or hear the train (including wildlife) at virtually any point along the entire track!!! Because it’s Britain, and everyone hates change and progress.
People moan about electricity prices but the moment anyone suggests putting a new pylon 300 metres from their front door they’ll go f’kin parapletic with rage. We have the power, we just literally can’t get it from Northern Scotland to Southern England because that would take infrastructure being build which is nigh-on f’kin impossible in Britain. So we turn off the wind farms instead – then buy gas for the South of England.
As it said in the article – US – planning approval for a data centre for AI WITH ALL POWER INFRASTRUCTURE OK TO BE BUILT – approved in 3 days bring the builders in let’s roll. China, same day. UK .. at least 8-10 years, with everyone objecting at every-single-stage-of-the-way and it all reaching the courts – and the thing almost definitely ending up refused because Doreen likes to see empty green fields when she has her coffee each morning. Yet people wonder why the UK is falling further and further behind ..
Basically AI and data centres are too power hungry.
Heard off someone (don’t know how true it is) that a manufacturing company wanted to open a plant in SE Wales but because of all the data centres the local grid didn’t have the capacity.
It has been ever since it was privatised. It’s just being used as a financial extraction device for private interests…
I am reading this two ways:
1. “we should just let private capitalists do what they want, it’ll definitely work out in everyone’s interests!” which I’m skeptical of because I don’t think the free market has anyones best interests at heart. Regulation exists for a reason: to protect us.
2. “our infrastructure is poorly utilised and is not reacting to change quickly enough. We should allow people with money invest that in our infrastructure to our mutual gain and relinquish our death grip on a plan that isn’t working” which sounds quite sensible and I can get on board with.
I’m not quick to trust private industry these days, but my faith in the government is equally low so… Whatever
Housing, trains, energy, water etc
All things the government should be having built. and owning
Tories said they would have 4 million houses with solar panels, we got 1.4 million. Of course they were never going to do it. However there is no reason the government shouldn’t be building the houses and having them installed with solar energy. Government can then control the price they wish to sell the houses for or whether they want to rent it.
Other than that there needs to be some powers for strategic reasons to override some of the issues causing delays. If it ain’t emitting toxic fumes or something equivalent then sorry but you don’t get a choice it needs to be built.
The underlying problem is we haven’t built a single nuclear power plant for over 30 years. The most efficient form of power generation was left to rot in favour of “cheap” gas and a forever minor amount of renewables.
Yer billions of barrels in north sea yet we import the oli make it make sense
Another octopus energy propaganda piece?
This is about the third in as many days.
Agree about nimbyism, but our small town had a massive incinerator built right bang in the middle of it, which borders a National Park, and which 97% of the local population voted against.
So, these things can be forced through if necessary.
I see the problem as people are less likely to approve of something they know only the wealthy and corporations will benefit from. For example, pylons built in your yard just for your energy bill to be the same and a corpo to make more profits. However, if the deal was pylons in yard for free electricity people would go for it.
The contract is broken and when you have an economic system and society based on self-interest you cant blame folk for following the rules, its the system thats the problem.