Energy shortages

[NorthernRaider]

Further to our recent chats about energy supplies for the nation as a whole (or London as a hole) and our efforts to insulate ourselves from planned energy shortfalls by 2018 onwards by going offgrid.

The Talks with French energy company EDF and German energy company EON to build new nuclear power stations across the UK are running into difficulties, (actually IIRC Eon has withdrawn from the scheme setting things back a bit).

What must be remembered that whilst they are still only discussing building new plants time rolls on and the obsolete coal stations must still close at the end of this year, this is going to leave us desperately critical in our energy capacity. As it was this winter it was one of the obsolete coal stations that managed to fill a gap supplying power for 1.3 million people during the recent cold snap, this old station wont be there next winter.

So now the talks with EDF are faltering and I fear they will only be resolved by us Brits giving the French bloody billions of pounds extra to stay in the project which will drive up energy bills even higher.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsb...weeks.html

[preservefreak]

it's looking like the biggest threats of the next 5 years are going to be this and food availability. so, how do you prepare for this when you can't put a wood burning stove in your house?

Our current early plans involve cooking outside as much as possible using a combination of kelly kettle for hot drinks, hot water bottles & washing up and a rocket stove, using hayboxes (already a big part of our cooking).

Blankets, layered clothes & hot water bottles are great for heating ourselves but I still haven't come up with a good way to heat a whole room without a chimney. I have a frontier stove (it gets used for re-enactment mostly and the odd big camping group in a bell tent) but I can't just plumb it out of a window.

Any ideas would be great, I'd also love to hear what other people are doing to combat this

[Skean Dhude]

A real threat with the risk increasing as our politicians fiddle expenses whilst London doesn't burn.

We should treat this the same as we have everything else. I've already got equipment for heating and cooking sorted but should really be looking at sorting out something for the home. Only problem is expense.

[Prepper1]

The last I heard is that they were looking at the CHINESE to build and run our future nuclear power plants....

Now that cant go wrong can it.....

---

Imagine that... we have difficulties in the future with china and all theyd have to do is shut down power production through the computer monitoring systems and we'd be flucked...

[Skean Dhude]

It's us, the Russians, the Americans and the Japanese that have previous.

The Chinese will be forced to build to the latest specs. It'll be fine.

[NorthernRaider]

(5 March 2013, 14:50)preservefreak Wrote: it's looking like the biggest threats of the next 5 years are going to be this and food availability. so, how do you prepare for this when you can't put a wood burning stove in your house?

Our current early plans involve cooking outside as much as possible using a combination of kelly kettle for hot drinks, hot water bottles & washing up and a rocket stove, using hayboxes (already a big part of our cooking).

Blankets, layered clothes & hot water bottles are great for heating ourselves but I still haven't come up with a good way to heat a whole room without a chimney. I have a frontier stove (it gets used for re-enactment mostly and the odd big camping group in a bell tent) but I can't just plumb it out of a window.

Any ideas would be great, I'd also love to hear what other people are doing to combat this

Cant you get portable catalytic heaters ???

[Highlander]

(5 March 2013, 14:50)preservefreak Wrote: it's looking like the biggest threats of the next 5 years are going to be this and food availability. so, how do you prepare for this when you can't put a wood burning stove in your house?mostly and the odd big camping group in

Any ideas would be great, I'd also love to hear what other people are doing to combat this

Is it possible to heat via solar, I don't mean on a large scale, but via a small panel [s] against a south facing window,..it would only do the daytime of course, and possibly only on warm sunny days,..,...I am just thinking aloud

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sunrise-Solar-Ra...B001GM9AOS

[Ghost]

The biggest problem I'll face is a lack of refrigeration if the power keeps going off. I've got a Honda 5.5 Genny but I'd rather be using the fuel for something other than keeping my Bolly cold!
I have an open fire and BBQ so no worries about cooking or keeping warm, candles for light and plenty of water via water butt and filters.

[Skvez]

An energy shortage is just a shortage.
During peak times some load will need to be shed.
You'll still have power most days and even days when you do have an outage you'll only be cut off for a few hours (rolling blackouts).
This is nothing more than an inconvenience for a prepper.
(It's a huge embarrassment for a western country)

[Wolfiesmith]

(5 March 2013, 19:39)Skvez Wrote: An energy shortage is just a shortage.
During peak times some load will need to be shed.
You'll still have power most days and even days when you do have an outage you'll only be cut off for a few hours (rolling blackouts).
This is nothing more than an inconvenience for a prepper.
(It's a huge embarrassment for a western country)

For the elderly it could mean the difference between life and death in a cold snap. I remember the power cuts of the 70's and it wasn't great, though perfectly survivable. If there are power outages in large towns and cities I think we can expect looting for sure.