1st Coal free day in the UK ; since the industrial revolution

[lifelessheap]

There was a thread a little while ago on how China is becoming the leader in producing green technologies. Solar panels, wind turbines, water turbines, etc. This makes me sad. I have been talking about trying to ramp up our green tech production for years, and now, the Chinese are beating us to the punch because they realize that fossil fuels are the past. Whether or not you believe in climate change, it is 100% proven that we will run out of fossil fuels. Why are we continuing to rely on them when we could be producing the technology that will replace them? How is that not a good economic decision? By kicking the can down the road and continuing to rely on coal and gas, we are losing our competitive advantage. It is seriously the stupidest decision that we can make, and I am ashamed of this short-sighted approach from my fellow conservatives. Green energy should be for everyone, and we need to get on our damn game. It is ridiculous that we are doing what we are doing.

I am a conservative and I have been obsessed with renewable energy since I was about 13 years old. I remember building my first solar oven and having more fun than the kids playing video games.

Clean energy is the future and we need to jump in feet first.

 

[Kirku]

According to wiki, in 2014 the UK generated 29% of its power from coal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_in_the_United_Kingdom#Electricity_supply

Curious how they made up for all that in just a few years, assuming the numbers are correct.

edit: nvm I see that it isn't that they are shutting down coal, it's just that they are have a coal free day. Not really sure the ramifications of that.

It isn't a 'coal-free day' in the sense that it was an organised stunt, or anything. The only coal power plant in the country wasn't used for a 24 hour period. According to this article, it happened previously, but only for 19 hours.

 

[jimbob27]

It isn't a 'coal-free day' in the sense that it was an organised stunt, or anything. The only coal power plant in the country wasn't used for a 24 hour period. According to this article, it happened previously, but only for 19 hours.

Yeah, they fire them up when needed. It was basically just a low power requirement day, where we were covered just by non-coal sources and storage reserves in the grid. It's a low energy time of year, as we've turned the heating off but nobody using their AC or fans yet.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

As renewable energy becomes cheaper coal will go away. The market does a perfect job of fixing the problem.

Here in California solar is causing all sorts of neat side effects. Small hydro is going away. PG&E is scaling back lots of things because more and more solar is decreasing the load and demand.

I plan on going solar soon. The prices are falling and the products are better than ever.

Elon Musk approves of this message.

 

[Big Nasty Edison]

I agree. It's just a shame we have a president making policies that push a dying industry instead of investing in the future and actual growth of renewable energy.

Yeah but some dumbass in West Virginia needs a job without learning a new skill. I mean all the other poor people just need to go learn some skills. But these guys need us to ruin our environment, contribute to climate change just to get this guy a job.

 

[PEB]

" The UK is set to have its first ever working day without coal power generation since the Industrial Revolution, according to the National Grid. "

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...coal-free-day-since-the-industrial-revolution

China is also cutting back on Coal power generation ; they have a yuuuge smog problem in their cities.

-
Meanwhile here in the US we have reversed Obama era dial-back of Coal mining.

But but clean coal!!!! Just like clean diesel.

EDIT: I just wanted to add that West Virginia coal miners are getting pissed off at President Trump already because companies are not buying their coal. They just don't get it we are at a turning point where wind and soon solar will be cheaper to produce electricity then coal. For companies that continue to produce electricity from coal it really does not make sense for their bottom line.

This is not about that crazy green house gas stuff "for conservatives" it just makes more sense. Natural gas still remains in play do to many areas not having broken that price point yet but coal is all but dead in the water. It's about the bottom line it's not just about building more coal power plants even with all the regulations lifted as much as President Trump would love companies to cut their profit margins down or raise their rates to continue using money losing coal.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Why would anyone even do that?

Jobs

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Yeah but some dumbass in West Virginia needs a job without learning a new skill. I mean all the other poor people just need to go learn some skills. But these guys need us to ruin our environment, contribute to climate change just to get this guy a job.

What do you suggest be done about these guys who need a job, but that job contributes to climate change?
It's not as easy as waking up tomorrow and having a new skill that can be utilized in the area of the country where some coal mines/plants may be. There is also the mobility of labor factor. There are programs out there that offer displaced or unemployed individuals restraining, imo those programs should be funded to the max. But without programs like that in place and being cognizant that eliminating coal will eliminate jobs while also displacing people, is a problem.

There's a lot of moving parts here (energy, healthcare, education) that need to work in tandem to get the desired result to midigate the loss of jobs, environmental shit and local economies in areas of the country that depend on coal or other natural resources that damage the environment.

 

[Renard]

You know one of those nuclear plants will blow up eventually. War breaks out, a real war not an invasion of a powerless middle-eastern country, the first thing they're targeting are those plants. It's only clean energy if absolutely nothing goes wrong, and that's a very dumb and short-sighted thing to assume. Solar and wind, yes, but not this. Phase out of that before you're forced to learn the lesson the hard way.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

I like the carbon tax because it's easier to implement and it lets the market drive the change, and that normally works much better than the government trying to force change.

It's a shift, but I actually kind of wish that we had been protecting oil interests in the Middle East. Had we been doing that, there would have been a clear reason to be in Iraq or Afghanistan after Bin Laden was killed. But the French got the biggest contracts in Iraq during the reconstruction, oil prices didn't go down, and the proof just isn't there that it was all about oil. Oil being in the region definitely enhances the strategic importance of the region, but that's not the only thing that makes it important. As such, I don't think that we are getting out of the region any time soon. With that in mind, I have a hard time seeing tons of federal funding getting out of military expenditures and getting into green tech. I think we will have to rely on the private sector here, so I'm hoping that the government creates the environment for that to happen. Just my take.

Carbon tax is great, I agree. But damn it seems like it would take an act of god to get that shit pushed through. Along with the maze of other tax reform that would have to go with it.

A good case to look at would be British Columbia. Their carbon tax, as of 2012 I believe, was revenue neutral. The price per ton of carbon was increased $5 for each year for five years. Ending in 2012, where it has stayed since then at $30 per ton. With some industries such as cement making, having a higher rate.

Or you could look at Ireland. But since the EU already had a pretty broad carbon emission plan in place, Ireland couldn't really hammer the high emitters of carbon/methane. So they went after small businesses instead. And all the revenue that Ireland generated from the tax went to deficit reduction. Because the Trikola said so lol.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

But but clean coal!!!! Just like clean diesel.

EDIT: I just wanted to add that West Virginia coal miners are getting pissed off at President Trump already because companies are not buying their coal. They just don't get it we are at a turning point where wind and soon solar will be cheaper to produce electricity then coal. For companies that continue to produce electricity from coal it really does not make sense for their bottom line.

This is not about that crazy green house gas stuff "for conservatives" it just makes more sense. Natural gas still remains in play do to many areas not having broken that price point yet but coal is all but dead in the water. It's about the bottom line it's not just about building more coal power plants even with all the regulations lifted as much as President Trump would love companies to cut their profit margins down or raise their rates to continue using money losing coal.

If coal is all but dead how come Southern Power just got done building a clean coal plant (bring the hate lol) down in Mississippi? Multi billion dollar plant.

 

[RockstarChris]

I am not sure how other countries are run and what their laws are but the United States governments job is not to tax people. It is to defend our country. If other countries want to implement a carbon tax on their own citizens then feel free. America sees what the rest of the world is doing and we do the opposite since the rest of the world has ALWAYS failed at everything.

 

[Bunk Moreland]

I am not sure how other countries are run and what their laws are but the United States governments job is not to tax people. It is to defend our country. If other countries want to implement a carbon tax on their own citizens then feel free. America sees what the rest of the world is doing and we do the opposite since the rest of the world has ALWAYS failed at everything.

 

[Kirku]

Yeah, they fire them up when needed. It was basically just a low power requirement day, where we were covered just by non-coal sources and storage reserves in the grid. It's a low energy time of year, as we've turned the heating off but nobody using their AC or fans yet.

AC in the UK? Must be an oxymoron

 

[Helden]

Innovation and progress is for liberal s. Go Trump!

Science and innovation is fake news anyway.. the biggest problem in America is sjw and tranny bathrooms...

 

[Fluffernutter]

At what point will Big Oil simply buy the solar, geothermal, wind turbine, etc. companies? After all, they got the cash and they have to see the writing on the wall

Or, do they have their own R&D working on "what's next after oil/coal is no longer viable?"