Power begins to return after huge outage hits Spain and Portugal

Reports this morning are that the Spanish Prime Minister is trying to dump the blame on the power companies, both state owned (Red Eléctrica de España) and private. That attempt has provoked more than a bit of backlash though.
 
Halcyon66 said:

Some interesting points raised, something to think about

You can never put the genie back in the box.

Regards,
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Helps that Pakistan is also one of the most relentlessly sunny places on earth. Huge supply of sunny days means less need for storage beyond "overnight".

But the comment in the article about the problem with maintaining the grid is a big one. I suspect that in the future there will be a grid connection fee which covers maintaining the grid, and then a cost-per-kWh fee for power used. Instead of the strict $0.078 per kWh I pay now (gotta love hydropower!), it'd go to something like ~$20/month for access/maintenance fee and ~$0.058 per kWh.
 
Halcyon66 said:
www.bbc.com

Cable thefts leave thousands stranded on Spanish trains

Copper thieves halt services from Madrid to the southern region of Andalusia.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com

Pretty unreal???
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Usually, train copper means working on high voltage systems, which means a high chance of electrocuting the copper thief(ves) in the process... Seen the news reports of that happening, and usually they need to use dental records to ID the bodies afterwards.
 
It happened in France, a few years ago. Sick SOBs wanted to make a few bucks stealing, then selling, expensive metals.

Usually, train copper means working on high voltage systems, which means a high chance of electrocuting the copper thief(ves) in the process... Seen the news reports of that happening, and usually they need to use dental records to ID the bodies afterwards.
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Not a great loss to mankind, for sure. Karmic punishment, how we love you.
 
"War is spreading. Soon, perhaps they even attack you."
 
This happens also in Germany quite frequently. Sometimes Copper cables are being stolen, sometimes signalling cable are beeing cut because they look the same. Once I found a cut signalling cable close to the railroad, my first idea was, it could be a copper cable and be worth picking it up...
 
Scrap metal's worth a lot, so there's always someone trying to earn a quick buck. It used to be lead off roofs, now it's copper. The UK solution is to license all the scrap metal dealers and force them to keep records. Doesn't entirely work, but makes it more difficult.
 
Cable theft from the railway is a regular occurrance where I live . . .

cheers,
Robin.
 
I used to work as Contract security for Manitoba Hydro the provincially owned crown corporation. That provides electricity to both Manitoba and elsewhere.
We had a case where some clown managed to literally blow himself up as well as set fire to himself . When in in the process of helping himself to some of Hydro's copper line when for reasons unknown he opened up a transformer and accidentally touched a bus bar.
The story goes that his body was so badly burned and damaged they weren't even ID through DNA . Thankfully he'd left his ID in his pickup truck which was parked just inside thé gate to switching station .
 
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Spain has the largest reserves of uranium and rare earths in Europe, but environmental legislation prevents their extraction for ideological reasons, which is very convenient for those interested in acquiring uranium from Russia through a semi-state company.

Our nuclear power plants do not emit CO2 and have been declared clean energy by European legislation, but environmentalists are pushing them to close by, burdening their owners with massive taxes that make their profitability impossible.

We also have excellent hydraulic renewable energy generators; double dam systems allow water to be stored in the upper dam when electricity is needed and pump upwards from the lower dam when there is a surplus. The system is clean, renewable and does not emit CO2, but environmentalists are bothered by it because it "affects ecosystems" and reduces our dependence on the outside.

The ideological reading is that these dams were built by Franco and must be destroyed.

Photovoltaic energy is very expensive and the manufacture of its components, which have a short operational life, pollutes entire countries in the third world and emits enormous amounts of CO2, it only works during the day, and its storage is unbearably expensive, a good deal for its manufacturers and a curse for taxpayers.

Wind energy is even more expensive to maintain because it has moving parts of gigantic proportions that need constant maintenance, its manufacture and transport pollute even more, when it is not windy it is necessary to resort to nuclear power, when the blades freeze they have to be thawed by throwing gasoline from a helicopter. But it's good business for some and a good reason to influence governments that act against their taxpayers.

The worst part of the problem consists of the inconstancy of the energy supply of these two detestable systems, which forces the entire electricity grid to be flexible to give them entry and justify their existence. In most countries this is considered a lesser evil and an environmental tax, but in Spain madness and greed have reached the extreme of trying one hundred percent wind and photovoltaic plants, destroying the others so that no subsequent government can rebuild them... Green forever.
 

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Aubi said:
Cable theft... Hah! Amateurs! Few years ago, in my corner of the world: https://theworld.org/stories/2016/07/31/czech-republic-thieves-steal-10-ton-steel-bridge-scrap-metal
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I see your bridge, and raise you a building . . .

www.untappedcities.com

The Building That Was Stolen (Twice!) in NYC: The James Bogardus Building - Untapped New York

The Bogardus Building (Edward Laing Stores) in Washington Market area, now Tribeca, was stolen not once, but twice, in its tragic preservation history
www.untappedcities.com www.untappedcities.com

cheers,
Robin.
 
A
Justo Miranda said:
Spain has the largest reserves of uranium and rare earths in Europe, but environmental legislation prevents their extraction for ideological reasons, which is very convenient for those interested in acquiring uranium from Russia through a semi-state company.

Our nuclear power plants do not emit CO2 and have been declared clean energy by European legislation, but environmentalists are pushing them to close by, burdening their owners with massive taxes that make their profitability impossible.

We also have excellent hydraulic renewable energy generators; double dam systems allow water to be stored in the upper dam when electricity is needed and pump upwards from the lower dam when there is a surplus. The system is clean, renewable and does not emit CO2, but environmentalists are bothered by it because it "affects ecosystems" and reduces our dependence on the outside.

The ideological reading is that these dams were built by Franco and must be destroyed.

Photovoltaic energy is very expensive and the manufacture of its components, which have a short operational life, pollutes entire countries in the third world and emits enormous amounts of CO2, it only works during the day, and its storage is unbearably expensive, a good deal for its manufacturers and a curse for taxpayers.

Wind energy is even more expensive to maintain because it has moving parts of gigantic proportions that need constant maintenance, its manufacture and transport pollute even more, when it is not windy it is necessary to resort to nuclear power, when the blades freeze they have to be thawed by throwing gasoline from a helicopter. But it's good business for some and a good reason to influence governments that act against their taxpayers.

The worst part of the problem consists of the inconstancy of the energy supply of these two detestable systems, which forces the entire electricity grid to be flexible to give them entry and justify their existence. In most countries this is considered a lesser evil and an environmental tax, but in Spain madness and greed have reached the extreme of trying one hundred percent wind and photovoltaic plants, destroying the others so that no subsequent government can rebuild them... Green forever.
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A German Company which did several puplic founded research projects on battery recycling was caught mixing and shreddereding wind turbine blades with batteries from electric cars for ilegal export to Tchechia. Here everxthing was burried under ground. All this toxic scrapp is now beeing excavated and send back to Germany. I guess, nobody knows what to do with it....

www.dw.com

Deutscher Sondermüll in Tschechien verklappt – DW – 24.04.2025

Eine international organisierte Müllmafia entsorgt illegal Sondermüll aus Deutschland in der Tschechischen Republik. Der Müll aus alten Windrad-Rotorblättern und geschredderten Batterien kann in Tschechien nicht recycelt werden. Ein Dorf wehrt sich.
www.dw.com www.dw.com
 
In my opinion, these types of renewable energies were developed in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, with the best intentions, but when they tried to apply them to real life, they were found to be unprofitable. But the investment was already made and to survive the manufacturers set about pressuring Western governments to adopt them, charging the losses to taxpayers and perhaps persuading some politicians with gifts, of which I have no proof, of course.
 
I believe, some amount of solar energy totally makes sense. The electricity supply was often (talking about Germany) most critical in the summertime because of reduced cooling capacities of the thermal power plants and higher losses in the grid. In Germany, electricity consumption peaks during noon (might be very different in Spain) and cheap solar energy does really help here.

Wind energy is not prefictable at all and has a much higher envivromental impact, especially on migrating insects, birds, whales (offshore) and wildlife in general. The EU comisdion went crazy about PTFE in the enviroment, but the worst contributer are wind energy, so the outcry came to an end. Meanwhile, the liver of wild pics shall no longer be eaten, because they ate spoiled with microplastic (much of it bering PTFE) from wind energy....
 
In my opinion, harnessing solar energy is the future of humanity, on earth and in space. Photovoltaic engineering is a dead end; panels degenerate over time and must be renewed at a very high real (unsubsidized) cost. The future lies in photosynthesis, if scientists manage to reproduce it in laboratories it will allow us to produce food and fuels using only water and sunlight. The problem is that the photochemical procedure used by plants requires several sequences that occur at the quantum level and that have not yet been deciphered, but it is only a matter of time, because the problem is important. It is unfortunate that money is used for ideas without a future.
 
Antonio said:
No copper robbery this time. It seems that someone cut the fiber optic cable link to the railway signaling system.
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Plot twist:
The government claimed it was sabotage, and it seemed plausible given the low value of the severed fiber optic cable. However, the police investigation considers theft more likely.
The handling of these events is truly opaque.

Justo Miranda said:
It is unfortunate that money is used for ideas without a future.
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I agree. Populism and parascientific fanatism seamlessly integrate with fatal consequences.
 

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