Induction

About time I discussed why intermittent renewable energy sources (wind and solar) are a huge problem for the well-being of society. I believe this is one of the greatest struggles of our time. A thread:

@LondonPubMap Horrid. You see this all over east/south East London. Some of the flat developments even mockingly leave the signage visible.

My Dad was a guv’nor for nearly 40 years. In the mid-1970s, our family ran the Marion Arms in Dalston, Hackney. The pub was built in 1859, closed in the mid-90s, and is now flats. You can see from the photos, in my humble opinion, why we need to support pubs as best we can. 🍻

@UniofOxford Scrap net zero

Energy bills are rising - and millions could be hit. Experts from Oxford's Smith School say there are 3 things the UK government could do right now to protect vulnerable households: 1. A social tariff 2. Emergency support 3. Help people access existing savings Find out more ⬇️ theconversation.com/rising-energy-…

@ret_ward Why are we reliant on expensive supplies of natural gas?

If only we were more dependent on expensive and unreliable supplies of natural gas…

This is manufactured nonsense. The system has been configured to be reliant on natural gas precisely because of net zero policies. Then when there’s a shock followed by the inevitable rise in price the “evils” of fossil fuels are exposed for what they are and the green energy evangelists are justified in their claims. Green energy advocates are disingenuous liars who are happy to see the country crumble to vindicate themselves.

😬UK gas prices just hit highest level since 2022😬 At current prices… * New wind & solar from latest "AR7" auction would cut the bill for UK gas imports by £5.5bn/y * A single (1) home heat pump would cut bill for gas imports by more than £600/y

It’s essentially like driving towards a cliff edge, realising there’s a cliff in front of you and then accelerating even harder into the abyss. It is tragic what is going on. The immense waste being spent on “upgrading” the grid to a complex, bloated mess is insane. At best all net zero can offer to the grid is equivalent reliability of delivering power. It offers no improvements and most likely will be inferior from an operation standpoint. Miliband says the UK cannot have a reliable, secure grid whilst depending on fossil fuels whilst ignoring 100+ years of reliable operation and cheap prices when the dependence on fossil fuels was even greater. Transient supply shocks do not justify permanently high prices baked in due to relying on weather-dependent generation.

This (see below from Dominic Frisby) is an excellent perspective on the current Iran crisis and its effects on energy markets, and cause for some calm, but not complacency. Something I think could be added is a bit more about why oil is central to late C20th/onwards economies. Green thinking has created the view that there is something almost mystical about oil, and that "dependence" on it is arbitrary, whereas the value of oil to a rational perspective is what it enables within the economy -- it enables the money to move around, and for buyers to find sellers, and so on. The first wave of (post) modern environmentalism more or less coincided with the first oil shock. And it seemed to confirm what the neomalthusians were saying. Resources were running out, there were too many people, and pollution was bad. But the first and second oil shocks were subsumed by the Cold War, and by the 1980s, the neomalthusian's predictions were beginning to have failed. The third oil shock coincided with the UK's Climate Change Act. I recall listening to the BBC World Service late one night that year, and on some news show Caroline Lucas was breathlessly claiming that "the era of cheap energy is over". The other guest was an owner of an oil well in Texas. He couldn't get enough of what Lucas was claiming, and agreed with her absolutely. He was delighted with her prediction that oil would soon reach $200 or more and would stay there. What strange bedfellows. Oil prices thereafter fell, and the US became the world's largest producer. It's amazing what you can find when you look for it. At its face, the Climate Change Act turned into law the idea that dependence on oil (and gas, and coal, and uranium) was arbitrary, and that you could just replace nodding donkeys with wind turbines. That's perhaps what MPs who voted for it believed and told the public. But underneath the façade, a deeper axiom of environmentalism was operating. Greens were not just sceptical about oil. They were sceptical of wealth, and especially sceptical of economic growth. And they were sceptical of industry. Environmentalism had invisibly established itself politically and culturally within British institutions, and from there it was made law with practically zero resistance. Can it be a surprise then, that the third oil shock coincides with the climate change act, and marks an era of deindustrialisation, rising prices, and on some economic metrics, an era of economic stagnation? And that is despite that era being preceded by two centuries of growth, in which economic depression, recessions, world wars and oil shocks were suffered, but the economy soon recovered. The green claim is that the shock of legislating the "transition" (to a low carbon economy), which is is functionally equivalent to an indefinite economic depression, can be mitigated through social reorganisation and redistribution of wealth (yours, not theirs, obviously). That is to say that oil shocks are welcomed by environmentalists, because they accelerate green policy agendas -- you can't just "build back" after such a crisis, you must build back "better", which is to say that economic recession must be locked in, and society reorganised around the changes seemingly caused by economic shock, that being the design of green ideology. During covid lockdowns, for example, private transport was immobilised because movement was prohibited. "Building back better" required that as much of that restriction persisted as was possible. This is framed as "resilience", but it is simply ratcheting: we're no more impervious to future shocks. We might use less gas now, but we're not less dependent on it. Renewable energy has not displaced fossil fuels, it has just closed down the industries that used them, and moved them and their jobs overseas. Meanwhile, at each turn, our political agency, sovereignty and capacities to recover are diluted. That is the real object of hostility: not the oil, but what the oil makes possible. The green conception of freedom is a seemingly extremely permissive one -- one in which you can indulge in hard drugs, late term abortion, sexual partnerships/marriage of nearly all kinds, zero regulation of borders, and so on. But its also one in which lifestyle is extremely tightly regulated -- what you may eat, how you may travel, what temperature your house is and how it is maintained. Do not doubt it: oil at $200 means depression, and European and British politicians want it there and higher, in perpetuity, because that is the only way they can cement the foundations of the green economy.

@Dieter_Helm One more reform: scrap net zero. Bring back coal, drill/frack as much gas as possible and de-regulate nuclear.

Three key reforms could address the UK's high electricity prices: system marginal cost pricing for industry; reform of the wholesale market; and setting the carbon price inversely to the oil and gas prices. My latest paper: bit.ly/4brM0tW

@greenartdf @aDissentient In a 100% solar and wind grid, what’s the cost of electricity when the wind’s not blowing and there’s no sun?

@aDissentient Wind and solar have zero marginal cost. Merit order effect pushes wholesale prices down daily. Retail prices reflect policy choices and grid fees, not technology costs.

In the Spectator, Tara Singh of Renewables UK says "Spain enjoys some of the lowest power prices in Europe", claiming that this is down to renewables. It isn't true. It's mid-ranking in both price and wind/solar generation.

@aDissentient @NetZeroWatch What’s going on with the Czech Republic and Switzerland’s prices? Very expensive considering.

@DigBipper188 @TheGreenParty And we still find them indispensable now, hence the decay in our economy trying to decouple away from them.

One word; SCALE!! We built infrastructure around fossil fuels because we found them extremely useful at the time for powering our society. We didn't consider the limitations or implications of founding society on them at the time because of how abundant it was and the fact environmental research was basically "Are the trees dead? No? It's fine then!" Or even "Did we kill the fish? No? It'll be ABSOLUTELY FINE then to pump the rivers full of byproducts from our factories!!!"

Labour and Tory MPs want new drilling in the North Sea whilst we face a growing climate, energy and cost of living crisis caused by our reliance on fossil fuels. Approving new oil and gas licenses won’t take a penny off our bills and will fuel the climate crisis. New oil & gas is not the answer. Clean green energy is.

Scrap net zero immediately. Miliband and his cronies say the UK cannot have energy security that relies on fossil fuels. Well, the reason we don't have energy security is precisely because of net zero. Natural Gas is the marginal generator for electricity because we shut down all coal power stations, built no new nuclear and went all in on intermittent renewables. For well over a century we actually relied on fossil fuels MORE than today and had greater energy security and cheaper electricity. Miliband is a fraud. The whole thing is farcical and will only get worse heading towards net zero. Source: DESNZ, "Electricity since 1920," National Statistics- Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES), 2024

@Wakethefitup Taxation is theft.

This guy speaks so much sense and he genuinely wants to help YOU, he's not at the whim of cronies & donors. Clearly the Tabloids will try and destroy him before the next general election...but don't believe their tripe, believe the GREEN hype...'cos it's on...it's genuinely ON!

Scrap net zero immediately. Ed and his cronies say the UK cannot have energy security that relies on fossil fuels. Well, the reason we don't have energy security is precisely because of net zero. Gas is the marginal generator for electricity because we shut down all coal power stations, built no new nuclear and went all in on intermittent renewables. For well over a century we actually relied on fossil fuels MORE than in the past and had greater energy security and cheaper electricity. The whole thing is farcical and will only get worse heading towards net zero. Source: DESNZ, "Electricity since 1920," National Statistics- Digest of UK Energy Statistics (DUKES), 2024.

🚨And there you have it. Sly News are finally GETTING IT! If Labour actually cared about reducing carbon emissions and making us less dependent on imports from Qatar they would do *MORE* drilling in the North Sea. @Ed_Miliband's entire Net Zero argument DESTROYED in 2 minutes

@mcmotors23 @KathrynPorter26 @DeborahMeaden Feel free to refute the claim, you’re offering nothing at all. Then again I wouldn’t expect anything less from a BBC warrior.

@WattInduction @KathrynPorter26 @DeborahMeaden Keep up the drivel champ.

THIS is the appropriate response ..it is the fastest, cheapest way to a more secure energy source.

@mcmotors23 @KathrynPorter26 @DeborahMeaden Thanks for your meaningless response.

@WattInduction @KathrynPorter26 @DeborahMeaden Great argument champ.🤣🤣🤡 Sign up with Kath, you'll get on well .

@KathrynPorter26 @DeborahMeaden Funny, for over 100 years we were even more dependent on fossil fuels and yet we had one of the most reliable and cheap electricity systems in the world. The demonisation of fossil fuels is the most ridiculous and idiotic arguments to exist and will drive the UK into the ground.

No, it's not as you would know if you knew the first thing about energy 1. Renewables only produce electricity which is less than 20% of UK energy demand 2. It's impossible to electrify millions of homes, cars, trucks and industry in a few years... It will take over a decade if ever 3. Miliband only plans to decarbonise electricity in 2030...his strategy is to hope nothing bad happens in the meantime AND we can electrify in an unfeasibly short time 4. The REALITY is we will continue to need oil and gas for decades. Even the CCC doesn't think we'll have stopped by 2050. So we should maximise our own production 5. And we should NOT rush to build renewables because they are extremely expensive. Only at the height of the gas crisis in 2022 were they cheaper at the wholesale level (see charts). Their intermittency and low energy density make them uneconomic. Trying to rush deployment only makes them more so

@61harpy @VinnieSull1van @Lost___London @Britains___Pubs Who said I don’t like them cuisines?

@WattInduction @VinnieSull1van @Lost___London @Britains___Pubs You don't like a curry or Chinese on a Friday night? No fish and chips?

This 1970s programme covers Lononders' love for the glory of Pie and Mash. Symbolically, the people in this video are dismayed that this shop was due to be demolished. This is todays reality, but on a far larger scale. This is one of our traditional customs that defines who we are. The disappearance of Pie and Mash shops, pubs, and so on is to lose the character of London itself. I remember my beloved grandmother taking me when I was tiny, and it was all downhill from there. It isn't just an inexpensive old custom that fed us but a delicious form of homely comfort. The people and what's taking place in this video are a representation of real London, and of course Britain. Their like, are truly seen no more. It's not only heartbreaking to think that one day it could all be gone, but to know that the world replacing it has no individually, character, or anything to be proud of. Each nation should have its own identifying characteristics as opposed to the forever growing internationalism that turns every country into identical victims of corporatism. ⏳️🍽

@LondonPubMap There is also a Ye Olde Mitre in north London which was an old coaching inn known for some alleged famous visitors, one being Charles Dickens. According to CAMRA there was a pub on the site from 1553. Proper old pub with timber frame and interior beams.

Ye Olde Mitre 📍1 Ely Court, Ely Place, London EC1N 6SJ The pub was first built in 1546 for the servants of the 41 Bishops of Ely whose 13th century built palace once occupied this area. The pub was rebuilt in 1773 making it one of London’s oldest pubs. #yeoldemitre #pub

@tomhfh @LoftusSteve > Shut every coal power station down > Rely on unreliable wind mills and solar > Oh no look we’re exposed to gas price shocks

>Shut down North Sea exploration >Build no new nuclear since 1994 >Ban onshore shale extraction >Cease to be a net energy exporter >Oh no energy prices go up >Punish people with even higher taxes >Refuse to admit this was all avoidable