Gib Bogle wrote:
Bruce wrote:
On Thu, 13 May 2010 18:49:52 +0100, Tim Watts wrote:
Right now we need some serious gigawatts - so not building a few
nukes would be foolish.


The energy gap that urgently needs filling arises between 2014 and
2018. New nuclear will not contribute a single kWh to filling that
gap because the earliest practicable date for commissioning a nuclear
station is 2019.


But, in the medium term, I think the tidal stuff and some offshore
wind farms[1] offer a good solution.


Agreed. But with any intermittent supply, such as wind or tidal,
there has to be additional pumped storage so that the power can be
re-generated when it is actually needed, rather than when the wind
blows or the tide flows.


Like tidal power, pumped storage is feasible only in special locations.
Big efficiency losses too.

efficiency not bad... 80% I thought..agree with rest