Hunterston B - Scotlands failing nuclear reactor

I wanted to bring this to the attention of our UK members primarily.
as my spider senses are tingling

Hunterston B has officially been given the OK to be turned back on after being closed down over fears of safety due to cracks in the graphite reactor blocks.

The UK's nuclear energy commission gave the green light to the government to restart the reactor.

(the Gaurdian)
EDF energy restart Hunterston B

(the BBC contains images of the reactor cracks)
Hunterston B crack in reactor graphite

Scotland has been quite good with its energy generation as of late , and increase their renewables output to meet the government goal for 2030 to be 100% renewable

given the increase in our green energy it makes absolutely no sense what so ever to restart the reactor when our energy from renewables is increasing.

At the start of 2019, Scotland had 11.0 gigawatts (GW) of installed renewable electricity capacity.[2] Renewable electricity generation in Scotland was 26,708 GWh in 2018, making up 74% of gross electricity consumption.[3] Scottish renewable generation makes up approximately 25% of total UK renewable generation.[4][5] In 2015, Scotland exported over 28.9 per cent of generation.[6]

this excerpt taken from Scotlands energy PDF

Generation in Q1 & Q2 would power the equivalent of all households in Scotland for approximately 18 months. (based on average annual household electricity consumption)

Scotlands Energy



According to the EDF hunterston B page on their site , Hunterston provides 965MW to the national grid in a years service
which is 0.9 million homes.

So it would be safe to say that there is no reason why Scotland would need the extra 965MW generation , if the energy we generated from renewables alone in Q1 and Q2 is enough to power all the homes in scotland for 18 months.

So who exactly is this energy for ? it doesnt appear to be required for Scotland since the renewables cover our demand

Then where is that electricity going I wonder ?

if you dont know about the grid then this is the answer

In the electricity sector in the United Kingdom the National Grid is the high-voltage electric power transmission network serving Great Britain, connecting power stations and major substations and ensuring that electricity generated anywhere on it can be used to satisfy demand elsewhere.

Could it be due to the power cuts in London when the national grid failed that our government in Westminster want full coverage for the rest of the UK coming up to a general election and winter, there is no telling what could happen to the grid as it was knocked out in part by a lightning strike.

if you refer to these power cuts by the grid you can see Scotland had only one power cut on the Island of Tiree
compared to the 6 in England

power cut map

So is it the case that the UK government along with the Nuclear regulator for the UK has given the green light to re-open the reactor despite its safety concerns , in order to produce power to provide energy to mitigate any power cuts coming up to the end of brexit and the general election and winter of discontent(my emphasis)

So the safety of Scotland is once again left to the side when the demands for coverage are required for the rest of the UK.

I have already raised a petition to my MSP to shut down and close the ageing nuclear facility.
We do not need a nuclear incident coming up to the general election and we certainly dont need a nuclear incident leading up to Indyref2

as we'd likely be told if it fails , its Scotlands fault , we wouldnt be fit to govern and the EU would be less likely to admit us as we cant even regulate a nuclear reactor.

So why are Scotland put under threat of nuclear incident ?
why should our nation need to take the risk to produce electricity for the rest of the UK ?

I mean a nuclear incident would be bad for the whole of the UK

not just Scotland, but apparently our government are totally ok with running a failing old reactor , and totally ok with having trident sit and rust in the clyde .

CONSPIRACY JOKES - (for those of you who want to know , this is the origin story for my new game im creating "techno clans of Alba Ur 2095"
scotland has nuclear accidents , falls into feudal clan state )

Also I do think its possibly conspiracy , by the tories since Peter Greshon owns it
I mean cmon what would ruin scotlands independence campaign , oh I dunno maybe a nuclear reactor meltdown
"oh seee scotland , you are too wee and too stupid and too unsafe to run your own country, so we are taking all of your devolved powers back and your oil "

national grid Plc
Peter Greshon

a reply to: sapien82

Ahh Sapien...........

I starred and flagged you as this is important information regarding the state of the reactor. However, do you honestly think the Tories are aiming for a nuclear meltdown to stop any notion of independence?

a reply to: Flavian

Not at all mate i'm just havin a wee conspiracy laugh , also like to rile folk up a wee bit , since we all need a good shake and a laugh every now and then

, but to be fair , there is absolutely no need for it to be back on , given that Scotland has already met is energy demands in Q1 and Q2

I just think its unnecessary

You starred and flagged me for the right reason , because I am totally 100% concerned over the safety issues
for the whole of the UK.

I mean the clouds of radioactive fallout from Chernobyl was bad enough for our farming and environment
imagine what one on our Island would do ?

I have already created a new petition to Scottish government , since all petitions to westminster are closed right now.
once I have it agreed to I will post here if you wish to sign it.

We dont need nuclear , Scotland is unique in that its renewables if increased could generate enough energy for not only Scotland but the whole of the UK.

a reply to: sapien82

Right if Labour get's in however unlikely that may be then this type of power will probably be phased out as more attention is paid to renewable's, if the SNP gain an overwhelming majority again in Scotland they will undoubtedly also have something to say about it given there justified objection to Trident, not justified on anti nuclear grounds but at the very least very justified as to cover up's of leak's and other occurrences over the decades from nuclear submarine reactors and other sources and the fact that the Trident presence in Scotland makes them a prime target should a nuclear war ever occur and Britain has many alternative areas were it could have located it's nuclear submarine bases including islands off shore from the mainland all around the British Isles which while not as convenient for road traffic would even afford greater security.

But as it stand's the Tory's may gain a majority, they do not despite there lies and protestations give two hoot's about the well being of the British people, the environment or the harm they themselves are doing and have done to many people since the coalition period of government that have resulted in a very sizable but undisclosed death toll among there victim's.

On the sunny side for the Scot's if the Tory's DO gain power expect the SNP to rerun an independence referendum with or without Westminsters say so and if they do then this time if the Tory's are in power I have absolutely no doubt that a second referendum would actually return an overwhelming result in favor or Scottish independence which itself may lead to a arbitrary declaration of independence on Scotland part and then short of doing as Spain as done in Catalonia and sending in the troop's in an affective white hall orchestrated coup against the democratically elected government of Scotland the British government will find itself paralyzed, as an island nation we NEED Scotlands resources but so many south of Birmingham are utterly thick and do not realize this, well they would not since they are geographically closer to France than parts of there own home islands.

This in turn will mean that IF the Tory's should win it will likely be the final government of Great Britain even despite leaving the EU, because of the Tory's WALES is even becoming more fixated on independence and until recently they were majority against it but recent poll's show that the under twenty fives are now majority in favor of welsh independence all a reaction to Tory austerity and lies as well as in no short part there lack of faith in Labour.

So while Boris may win the election and be overwhelmingly popular with the Tory's themselves he will likely then be the final prime minister of Great Britain and we shall then dissolve into the three separate nations we really are (it would likely have been four but the Cornish as a distinct people are nearly extinct).

So nuclear power is on many people's minds', the only reason we have these dirty reactors anyway is because Thorium technology (clean nuclear reactor) was deliberately suppressed since only Uranium reactors can create weapon's grade material.

And no matter what the Tory's - Cameron - with his side kick Clegg, May and now Johnson have done more to divide and split our nation than any other government in history except back during the Jacobite revolution.
And all so the rich could pay less tax.

You know what while not everyone likes the SNP Nicola has the right priority's for her people and I wish she was in charge of the bloody Labour party actually.

a reply to: sapien82

I totally get the concern. Sellafield is a bigger threat than anything else in our nation, even down to simple things like storage ponds having rotted netting on them - so local pigeons, gulls, etc, perch on radioactive matter and then crap all over the local environment....

On the other hand, if we can either come up with proper Thorium reactors (clean fuel) or actual workable Fusion reactors, then i think nuclear energy could be a god send.

Of course, for us in the UK the obvious choice would be to go tidal. We have quite a few of the world's top 10 tidal ranges contained within our shores - if we can't make that work, then there is no hope for tidal power anywhere!

a reply to: LABTECH767

Wow really good reply there man , I just dont have much of a political side to see how things pan out , but thats interesting
the last british government!

Wow making history

a reply to: Flavian

I've never been pooped on by any bird, but I dont like the sound of radioactive seagull #e

sounds like it would give you a nice glow

Thinking of Tidal , didnt Doggerland exist at one point, couldnt we effectively turn Doggerland into a huge offshore wind farm ?

Rewnewables is the way forward , unless as suggested we get into proper clean thorium reactors

a reply to: Flavian

Ahh Sellafield (AKA WIndscale) the home of a nuclear melt down worse than four mile island, more nuclear spill's than kitchen towel advert and some of the worst safety lapses in any industry in the UK, the pay is good though if you don't mind being irradiation, not that good however that they have not gone on strike there once or twice because you know - private enterprise running a dilapidated formerly government nuclear facility, it's about 50 miles or so from where I live.

Of course we really did a number on Scotland back in the 50's, 60's, 70's and 80's when Westminster thought they could get away with anything they wanted.
One word Doundreay.
www.theguardian.com...
There is also the mine up there that went right under the sea following the old coal seam's and when they were looking for somewhere to put all that nasty radioactive waste they decided to just stick it down the mine along with plenty of barrels of toxic and corrosive chemical's, capped it with a bit of concrete and forgot about it until after an underground explosion - well there would be with barrels full of toxic and corrosive chemical's leaking into one another - the stuff started to show up on Beaches all around the north sea.

a reply to: LABTECH767

Thorium reactors were not suppressed as such. They simply could not get enough of a power return at the time whereas Uranium did - and could also then be used to make nuclear bombs. You have to remember this was a time when we had no cash as a nation (post War) so expensive possibilities where always shelved in favour of cheaper definites.

a reply to: sapien82

There are plans for a huge offshore wind farm built on artificial islands around Dogger Bank. Dogger Bank Wind Farms

Fair to say we have plenty of both wind and tidal power here in Blighty. Climate change may affect wind but won't (shouldn't!) affect our tidal range as much.

originally posted by: sapien82
a reply to: Flavian

I've never been pooped on by any bird, but I dont like the sound of radioactive seagull #e

sounds like it would give you a nice glow

Being pooped on by a bird is supposed to be lucky but i'm thinking not so much if you end up glowing like you are in a Ready Brek advert!

a reply to: Flavian

That's correct you are right, still that is always going to be the way for any government on a budget, remember though the whole travesty of what happened to Salters Duck back in the 1970's, it was not so much suppressed as deliberately over estimated by the tactical displacement of a decimal point (perhaps somebody in the oil and coal industry was scared for job's or was there a more nefarious reason) or else we as a nation surrounded by water could easily produce all our energy from tidal power alone, Salters duck also has the advantage that barrages of his invention would also have extremely reduced coastal erosion but with our more ecologically aware minds of today that would mean we would have to think more carefully about were we could place them today if we ever did use them.

www.eng.ed.ac.uk...

There's already enough mutants on the streets of Glasgow.

a reply to: Grenade

I am north west England and while old Glasgy Town may have earned something of a reputation it is far less deserved these day's, in fact the likes of Manchester, Liverpool, London and even parts of Bristol and Southampton are far more rough and deprived.

There were a few extremists - there always are - that turned everyone's stomach for attacking people during the last referendum simply because they thought they might be English but those idiot's are not a scot's phenomena indeed you will find them everywhere and we have had to ban them from footy matches up and down the nation with many southern football team's having far worse records for hooliganism than anything north of the border in spite of the infamous rivalry between Celtic and Rangers (basically you are talking about Saturday night thug's whom if there was not a good footy match they could ruin would go out on the pop to look for a fight with anyone they thought they could beat up, lout's and sorry that's NOT Scot's they tend to be far more gentile even than we do south of the border were I might add the art of being a gentleman and saying good morning to folk's on the street seems to have died off these day's but is still quite commonly practiced as is Sunday worship in Scotland).

So I would gently argue that the kind of mutant's you may be referring too are actually more common south of Birmingham even than in the north of England (which may itself as well be another country for all the care the Westminster has traditionally shown it and which many here believe deserves it's own parliament as well myself included - and I was always against Devolution but preferred moving parliament to Manchester as at least then it would be at the heart of the nation instead of in it's arse hole - no offense to London though you know the Great Stink used to be it's other name).

a reply to: LABTECH767

It was a joke, more about the female nightlife.

I'm from Glasgow. Bar the knife crime, poverty, alcohol and drugs i love my home city and the people of Scotland as a general rule.

a reply to: Grenade

Ah I get it sorry I took it the wrong way I am not that young myself but that makes me chuckle now you have corrected it, yes there have always been a few mutant's - everywhere and we used to rank them by how many pint's (beer goggles) it would take.
Usually the one's that looked like the painters from the Severn bridge (Back when they used to paint it all the time) had done there makeup were the one's to avoid at the start of the night but as you got ever more inebriated they started to look increasingly more passable.

No offence to any ladies just we guy's do tend to be Shallow Hal.

a reply to: LABTECH767

Oh yes, had many an uncomfortable itch after a night out in Glasgow.

Funnily enough i don't remember how it happened, must have been the alcohol. I do get the odd flashback and shudder / twitch.

originally posted by: LABTECH767
a reply to: Grenade
Ah I get it sorry I took it the wrong way

It's ok, stepping onto your high horse is a joining requirement at ATS. How else would the community work if not to shoot you down from it?

a reply to: sapien82
My ATS moment

This message is about the reason why they will amp up that nuclear power plant. For you it does not make much sense, if you do not know the following yet:

Nuclear power plants are serving the base-load on the grid.

The common renewable energy sources like solar, wind and water power plants can not serve that base load. It is because of their fluctuating or pulse like power generation, like pump water power plants.

Streaming water plants are an exception.

Only steady driven power plants are able to do that. These are nuclear and coal power plants, or power plants in general that have slow reaction times on power output.

It also is a factor how much it costs to reduce power on a power plant. Gas is cheaper and easier to regulate than a coal plant is for example.

Here is the current energy production for my country, I am sorry I do not know where to get yours.
www.energy-charts.de...
The red section is nuclear.

If you take away nuclear, you loose a big chunk of the available base load, for example.
I know you can not compare Germany with Scottland in terms of industrial grid load, but take this as an example for explaining why they switch on that nuclear reactor.

Hope I could help

a reply to: LABTECH767

Funny thing that old decimal point i remember they screwed up the fish stocks when some scientist put the decimal point in the wrong place .

I worked at Dounreay in the eighties and safety was a joke but if you bit your nails or had a filling or a Irish relative you would be turned down , But once you were in and on the job they did not give a damn about how you accomplished the job , we were doing a HVAC refit and only me and one other are still living from that squad now ,but hey they money was good and i was young ten foot tall and indestructible , the same with Nigg Bay i got bombed with radiation more than once on night shift when they were checking the welding and you were told to keep quiet about it or you would not work again in that industry .

Ps i am a dabber you are right people avoid us on a night out with good reason , we are touched by the hand of g-d and have the care factor of 0