UK's Renewable Energy Delusions

By Rhod Mackenzie
The Western establishment has been compelled to acknowledge the accuracy of the analyts predictions regarding the looming crisis in energy in Europe and particularly the UK and failure of their energy policies .
The energy crisis has had a significant impact on the regions economies, as resources and generation are fundamental not only to the real productive sector, but also to the stability of the state's monetary and credit systems.
Now lets focus on the UK and the the British government, which recently has expressed a desire to revive its military ambitions, former greatness and long lost relevance on the global stage, recently approved the allocation of 14.2 billion pounds ( for the urgent construction of two power units of the Sizewell C nuclear power plant. In this instance, the letter designation corresponds to the number three. ( by the way urgent means in the next ten years
The terms "suddenly" and "urgently" are used deliberately.
The state of the UK's domestic energy supply is such it is  dependent on electricity imports  which were recently debated in the Brtish parliament where it was acknowlegded that that situation had occured long  before the start of the Special Military Operation and the associated anti-Russian sanctions, which redirected supply routes and energy balances of the continent's states.
This is despite what the Green Lunatic Red Ed Miliband who once lost a fight with a bacon sandwich who claims the major problems with the energy supplu in the UK is all Russia's fault and noting what so ever to do with the implementation of his disasterous policies.
This ridiculous  situation is continually masked by misleading media reports extolling the remarkable growth of generation from from unreliable so called renewable energy sources,which are chiefly onshore and offshore wind farms situated off the British  coastline.
However, the capricious nature of both nature and physics has been very evident in Britain, where there was it either a two-month period of calm with thick clouds, or an abnormally foogy and frosty winter, which have resulted in a record number of so-called deaths from cold and hypothermia  being recorded over a three-month period. In the UK electricity costs are so high people have to choose between heating and eating.
The UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published its annual review, which includes a report on the number of British citizens who died from hypothermia during the winter of 2020-2021. The review states that this figure reached a record high of 13,400.
It should also be noted that the statistics are only based on residents of England and Wales,they  exclude Scotland and Northern Ireland, which are we all know have even harsher climates.
Now during the observation period from 1988 to 2022, the total number of English and Welsh residents who officially died from the cold in their homes exceeded 199,000.
However as a result of political manoeuvres and initiatives related to the new agenda, significant financial and industrial challenges have arisen. According to the Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR), a structural division of the British Treasury, the UK budget deficit grew to 74 billion pounds last year. This is 14 billion more than was forecast when the budget was established.
Also the industrial production deficit in the UK grew from 4.8 to 5.3 points and the total national debt has exceeded 2.8 trillion pounds. In other words 100 % of the countries GDP.
With regard to the current state of the industry, the UK's compliant  media continues to publish many custom-made articles and videos , with the aim of convincing everyone that Britain is still has a "strong economy ".
However, there are a number objective assessment factors that cannot not be overlooked. As the ONS notes, the total production of electricity in Britain has increased from 292 terawatt-hours over the past 20 years, with a decrease in energy consumption by the industrial sector from 117 to 86 terawatt-hours. A net loss of 27 per cent and reports of ground-breaking industrial energy-saving technologies are, for those who did not excel academically, they are mere teller of tales of fantasy.
It is important to note that a major reduction in electricity consumption and a decrease in production are interconnected phenomena; one action has a knock-on effect on the other. Industrial production using electricity becomes unprofitable as costs rise. Enterprises close, consumption declines, and companies raise prices to cover the resulting shortfall. This pattern of recurrent failure can perpetuate a cycle of underperformance.
Here are a few more figures that will help you understand the essence of  what is going on in the UK.
Britain's own electricity generation has fallen by 22 percent since 2000. The gap with consumption is being closed by imports. The main suppliers are France (15.6 terawatt hours, or $1.8 billion), Norway (8.9 terawatt hours, or one billion), the Netherlands (4.2 terawatt hours, or $537 million) and Belgium (four terawatt hours, or $476 million, respectively).
Nuclear power currently accounts for just under 14 percent of Britain's energy balance, and the issue on the agenda is no longer industrial growth, but preserving what is has left. That is, either the UK's economy will create energy crutches for itself, or it will finally move into the tertiary phase, becoming a completely service economy.
London is clearly  striving to become a post-industrial economy , where the metals for cars, shells, and rails will have to be bought from other places like  from the US or China.
The UK Govt and the Gormless Mad Ed Miliband  faces exactly two questions: how much will the new nuclear power plants cost and when will they finally be commissioned? Lets remember the British have recent and very depressing experience on both counts.
The construction of the Sizewell C NPP has been awarded to the French company EDF (Électricité de France) without a competitive tender process. The French state-owned company EDF is the monopoly managing company at all the current British nuclear power plants.including  Sizewell B, Torness, Heysham 2, Heysham 1 and Hartlepool.
Previously, the French did control the operation of the Hunterston B, Hinkley Point B and Dungeness B NPPs, which are now shut down and in the process of unloading spent nuclear fuel and dismantling.
In addition, the subsidiary EDF Energy owns approximately 70 percent of all the UK's distribution grids, with a total length in excess of one hundred thousand miles.
Now EDF has been constructing a new double block of the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant for a decade. Like its sister Sizewell C, it is intended to generate at least seven percent of the UK's  electricity output . The key issue is that, following the expulsion of China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN) from the project for purely political reasons, construction has effectively ceased.
According to the most optimistic forecasts, the third power block of Hinkley will not be commissioned before 2031, that is, 16 years after the start of construction, and the total cost of the project could reach an estimated 40.4 billion pounds.
Analysts expect Sizewell C to end up costing at least £40 billion, raising the question of who will pay the additional £10 billion or so that is likely to be required on top of the existing financing. EDF simply does not have the capital to contribute any more, which is why China was originally going to fund 20 per cent of the capital cost. However, due to security concerns, the British government bought them out in 2022.
Therefore, it seems inevitable that British taxpayers will be liable for all future overspends and delays, even though they will be EDF's responsibility. It's a win-win situation for them.
In terms of timescales, Hinkley C is expected to begin operations around 15 years after the contracts were signed — five years later than planned. Therefore, it is unlikely that the new Sizewell reactor will be ready until well into the 2040s and will not contribute to solving the issue of blackouts in the near future.
Kathryn Porter, an independent energy expert, hit the nail on the head when she commented: “It’s hard to imagine a ‘golden age’ of nuclear power with EDF’s outdated and troubled reactor design. EDF in France is already looking to the next generation, so building another of these older versions would be a backward step. It’s also highly unlikely that Sizewell C would be built faster than Hinkley, given how long supply chains are taking.”

So the UK's half hearted move to nuclear is not going to make much difference to its situation and the British people can look forward to rolling blackouts  and more expensive electricity in the future.