Tag: energy

10 Comments

Scotland produces 5-6 times more gas than it consumes annually, making it a net exporter.

johnrobertson834

In the Guardian today: Report detailing risk to UK gas security was not one to bury on budget day – In short, Neso found there is an “emerging” risk of Britain running out of gas if an important piece of kit were to be out of action at a bad moment. It modelled five “pathways” for gas demand out to 2030 and 2035 and tested against a prolonged spell of very cold weather. Here is the key sentence: “In the unlikely event of the loss of the single largest piece of gas infrastructure, gas supply falls short of demand for all pathways … Continue reading Scotland produces 5-6 times more gas than it consumes annually, making it a net exporter.

1 Comment

Scots taxpayers to pay £200 million for new nuclear power stations in England

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Dorothy for alerting me to this. In the Guardian today, the above and: UK energy bill payers will hand over £2bn a year in subsidies to EDF, the French company building two nuclear power stations, according to government figures. EDF, owned by the French government, will be entitled to £1bn in annual payments as soon as Hinkley Point C, in Somerset, comes on to the grid in 2030. The sum is due under the contracts-for-difference system that guarantees low-carbon energy companies a fixed price for the electricity they generate. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/nov/28/uk-energy-bill-payers-edf-hinkley-point-c-sizewell-c Will Scottish Taxpayers Share the … Continue reading Scots taxpayers to pay £200 million for new nuclear power stations in England

5 Comments

Another fracking dangerous technology only suitable for Scotland and the North apparently emits more CO2 than it stores

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Bernadette Robertson for alerting me to this. In the UK Daily Mail, today, but not on the ‘Scottish’ edition’s front page: The long–awaited solution to Britain’s climate crisis could finally be here. Scientists have identified eight potential sites for the ‘direct air capture machines’ (DAC), which would extract CO2 from the air and turn it to stone. The eight promising locations include Antrim in Northern Ireland, Borrowdale in the Lake District and the Isle of Mull in Scotland. According to the experts, the sites have a wealth of volcanic rock underground that would react with CO2 and … Continue reading Another fracking dangerous technology only suitable for Scotland and the North apparently emits more CO2 than it stores

7 Comments

New radiation exposure limits ‘catastrophic’ for women and girls likely to be meekly accepted by Scottish Labour

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA From the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists yesterday: In a May executive order, aimed at ushering in what he described as an “American nuclear renaissance,” President Donald Trump declared moot the science underpinning decades-old radiation exposure standards set by the federal government. Executive Order 14300 directed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to conduct a “wholesale revision” of half-a-century of guidance and regulations. In doing so, it considers throwing out the foundational model used by the government to determine exposure limits, and investigates the possibility of loosening the standard on what is considered a “safe” level of radiation exposure for the general public. In … Continue reading New radiation exposure limits ‘catastrophic’ for women and girls likely to be meekly accepted by Scottish Labour

6 Comments

10 to 1 in favour and the 1 ‘buried’ and key concerns left out, the BBC’s ‘balance’ on Labour’s nuclear plans in Wales is exposed as just another example of biased reporting

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA Before the recent surges by Plaid Cymru and Reform UK, we used to be able to contrast BBC Wales reporting, favourably with the horribly one-sided and dishonest coverage by BBC Scotland. With Labour now at risk, they are moving quickly to behave in the same manner. In a 980-word report on the Westminster plans for a new small nuclear power station as far away from London as they can manage without trying to put it in Scotland, on the farthest edge of North Wales, there are only 90 words casting doubt and, even then, avoiding sensitive … Continue reading 10 to 1 in favour and the 1 ‘buried’ and key concerns left out, the BBC’s ‘balance’ on Labour’s nuclear plans in Wales is exposed as just another example of biased reporting

1 Comment

Further delays in English nuclear power station project owned by France hammers home huge costs and inefficiency of Labour’s plans for Scotland to spend THREE times as much to generate electricity

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Frances McKie for alerting me to this. From Bloomberg UK, two days ago, the above. Readers may remember repeated comments from Labour’s Anas Sarwar, UK Energy Minister Ed Miliband and Junior Energy Minister, Michael Shanks that on day one of a Labour administration in Edinburgh (;-)), they will begin planning to return nuclear energy to Scotland. Polls suggest that the media coverage in Scotland has persuaded a small majority that we need this so getting the evidence out there is hugely important. The above news from Bloomberg comes on top of endless publications telling … Continue reading Further delays in English nuclear power station project owned by France hammers home huge costs and inefficiency of Labour’s plans for Scotland to spend THREE times as much to generate electricity

3 Comments

Why Scots have a ‘critically low’ democratic well-being score – the 50 years theft of their energy supplies for one thing?

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA Carnegie UK today have reported (previous TuS post) that Scots have a ‘critically low‘ democratic well-being score of only 40%. Who is surprised? I’m surprised it’s not zero, same as mine. If you are at all aware of Scotland’s 300 year plus and current predicament in the Union, how could you get anywhere near 40%. Given their many problems with crap governance but at least their own crap government, 40% would be a fair guess for Ireland. I asked the document’s built in AI why this might be. It just listed all the wee parts leading … Continue reading Why Scots have a ‘critically low’ democratic well-being score – the 50 years theft of their energy supplies for one thing?

7 Comments

The case for or against approval of Western Link 2 from Ayrshire to Wales and the West Midlands

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA In the map above you can see the full range of networks transferring electricity from wind farms in Scottish waters, across the border into England & Wales. It’s a dramatic illustration of the UK’s increasing dependency on Scotland’s electricity generation. Just how much? From Energy Statistics for Scotland – Q2 2025 published today: In the second quarter of 2025, 8.1 TWh of renewable electricity was generated in Scotland. This is the most renewable electricity generated in the second quarter of any year in Scotland Scotland’s capacity for electricity generation from renewable sources has continued to increase and currently stands … Continue reading The case for or against approval of Western Link 2 from Ayrshire to Wales and the West Midlands

8 Comments

UK MoD plan to decommission at least 7 nuclear subs in Fife, with houses less than 1 mile away and downwind by methods 1 000 times more dangerous than US methods

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA From Brian Goodall, three days ago on Facebook: Babcock’s and MOD asked to think again on nuclear submarine dismantling process at Rosyth Dockyard. This morning at a meeting of the Rosyth Dockyard Local Liaison Committee in the Dockyard I repeated my long held view that the proposed second stage of the nuclear submarine dismantling demonstrator project, that is about to start, is a stage too far, and I ask for a rethink. The next step will see Babcock cutting out the reactor pressure vessel from the reactor compartment of the decommissioned nuclear submarine Swiftsure, in an … Continue reading UK MoD plan to decommission at least 7 nuclear subs in Fife, with houses less than 1 mile away and downwind by methods 1 000 times more dangerous than US methods

16 Comments

Scottish Labour’s nuclear energy policy shattered by latest estimate for one half-mile deep (!) waste storage facility costing nearly £70 BILLION 40 years after a Scottish Labour council rejected the idea

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Frances McKie, once more, for this alert. When I arrived in Ayr in 1984 and began hillwalking in the nearby hills, I heard of the local community’s recent campaign of resistance to plans to bury nuclear waste under the granite 2 270ft mountain, Mullwharchar, 30 miles away but visible from the town,  in the Dungeon Hills, a sub-range of the Galloway Hills range. From No2NuclearPower: The first planning application was made in January 1978 to Kyle and Carrick District Council (South-west Scotland) by the UKAEA to test drill on Mullwharchar Hill near Loch Doon on the border … Continue reading Scottish Labour’s nuclear energy policy shattered by latest estimate for one half-mile deep (!) waste storage facility costing nearly £70 BILLION 40 years after a Scottish Labour council rejected the idea