Celtic Interconnector

[Mr Gus]

OGB, yes & this 50+ year long history on interconnects makes it all the more perplexing as to why anyone would forgo the plan to bolster everyone, everywhere, considering Irish land.& sea wind expansion, + ditto the uk, we are in the same catchment area for producing wind energy & the excess export market which we are heavily involved in flogging rights to, so it's not "upset us & we turn the power switch off".

Surely not as simple as investment gamble versus returns involving someone else?

[Oldgreybeard]

OGB, yes & this 50+ year long history on interconnects makes it all the more perplexing as to why anyone would forgo the plan to bolster everyone, everywhere, considering Irish land.& sea wind expansion, + ditto the uk, we are in the same catchment area for producing wind energy & the excess export market which we are heavily involved in flogging rights to, so it's not "upset us & we turn the power switch off".

Surely not as simple as investment gamble versus returns involving someone else?

I think it just comes down to pure economics. The first few cables pay for themselves easily, as they cream off the top of the arbitrage ripple, subsequent ones are far harder to justify, economically, as the first few cables have already taken the most profitable arbitrage possibilities, so they are left with having to trade on lower margins, I suspect.

It might be different if electricity supply and distribution was managed as a strategic capability, rather than left to market forces, but we are where we are and I doubt much is likely to change.

[dan_b]

Whilst in the EU, the UK was part of the integrated EU electricity trading market, which made the interconnector transactions somewhat cheaper and easier/quicker to organise/respond to market fluctuation. Whilst in the EU, the UK also received central-EU funding to develop interconnectors as part of the EU infrastructure budget. Which as we are now not members, we are no longer eligible for.

I would imagine those two reasons are useful enough factors to consider for an Ireland-France interconnector.

[dan_b]

For the benefit of the forum, I've done an update on the state of the UK Interconnectors here
https://camelot-forum.co.uk/phpBB3/view ... 110#p23462

[spread-tee]

It would be nice OGB, as a keen amateur astronomer with more than a passing interest in astrophotography, stray light pollution is the bane of my life. Mind you living on the edge of SW Lunnun I am in the worst possible place The Campaign for Dark Skies has done a good job in promoting various dark sky site around the country, everybody should see a truly dark sky and be amazed once in a while.

Desp

It gets very, very dark here, so dark that it's impossible to walk down the lane without risking falling into the stream one side or the hedge the other. Everyone carries a torch from around October to March, you only forget to take one out once before it becomes habitual.

Rhodopsin is your friend, well after 15 minutes or so, much better than those nasty retina blasters. I am always amazed at how much more sensitive eyesight becomes after a bit of dark adaption, starlight is easily enough to get around quite confidently by.

Desp

[Mr Gus]

Annoying when a reverse google fails you.

Personally I have yet to own a cob headlamp.
The trouble with generic chinese schmutter such as these is the lousy headbands that decouple with utmost frequency, & a blob o gaffer tape would leach glue & you'd be screaming choice words as you ripped hair from the scalp ...bar you lucky bald few.

The weight of these 5-7 lights is not countered at the rear by the 18650 (singular) so light is good but short (obviously) & the elastic very sub par compared to a typical petzl band, but the oe i have is used by the wife for unblocking pores, fixing paws (dogs) & locating dog hairs in feet...for close work it is a doozy cheapo floodlight.

I'll see if i can find it on Ali Moxi, but personally would scrutinise headbands of this ilk, if it can't sit on there it's no longer a headlamp.
(wife re-threads ours monthly)

[Mr Gus]

Back on topic, these leases of the seabed around the uk being swept up by foreign firms offshore windfarms? how are they connected? ..presumably a lot of that goes via national grid or is it simply sold back to us as the uk market? ..sorry, i'm unfamiliar with a whole raft of this area, do we (govt) make concessions to get the sale, if so why is it all so piecemeal a set up, (the new ireland to france link being a part of that, who is the stubborn git in this shared energy enterprise, if us then why buy up & stick windfarms in our waters, & if its the EU, why use our waters (& presumably want our naval security "on it" if locking us out of something we all started off in & all continue to need from wherever we can get it?

[dan_b]

Gus - the seabed leases around UK shores are technically owned by the Monarch. They are managed by the government office "Crown Agents"

https://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/en-gb/ ... he-seabed/

Of course once it goes out into open waters it's then all up for negotiation.