Roger Bryant: 
 

Hinkley Point C will produce around 25 TWh per year.

Which will just about cancel out the loss of Dungeness B, and the imminent closure of Hinkley B and Hunterston B!

Perhaps we should have electric rails sunk into roads like Scalextric. Or use overhead supplies.

How 'Trolleybuses' provided Britain's first pollution-free public transport | Daily Mail Online

Z.

Anyone see the IET Webinar thingy today? Seems JP recognised a couple of the question setters 

?

Zoomup: 
 

Perhaps we should have electric rails sunk into roads like Scalextric. Or use overhead supplies.

How 'Trolleybuses' provided Britain's first pollution-free public transport | Daily Mail Online

 

Z.

I do not think they could be considered pollution free. Where does the Lektrik Come from?

I think that, at best, you`ve allowed it to be produced in possibly the least pollutive means, then use it somewhere else. A gain yes OK but not totally free by a long chalk

Don't forget that there are many facets to transport policy … in my local CA (and I suspect others are similar), the policy for several years now has included things like:

• Planning changes so that housing/shops/jobs/facilities etc. are placed closer together so much more daily activity can be achieved without needing vehicles. (Probably the least well implemented so far and probably the most long-term - but still on the cards and likely to carry much more weight in future)
• Discouraginging private car use for short/local journeys and encourage ‘active’ travel (walking/cycling) and public transport - e.g. by reallocating road space to public transport/cyclists/pedestrians.
• Attempting to improve public transport (the new regional mayors are now starting to get powers to make very significant changes to the local transport systems after decades of central government rules that set more store on competition between private companies than providing an integrated transport system, so expect much more significant changes in the future)
• Converting the remaining vehicles to low/zero emission

There are lots of drivers for such policies - not just CO2 emissions, but also road safety, local air quality, congestion/economics, population health/exercise levels, quality of community spaces, social inclusion, and so on - but they all point to needing far fewer private cars in the future and those having lower milage.

   - Andy.

davezawadi (David Stone): 
 

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/07/28/blackout-warning-drivers-must-charge-electric-cars-off-peak/

That is very funny. 2 Hours use and it's flat, that is no use to man nor beast. It can only be called virtue signaling. The 40-tonne size must have a battery the size of a house, many are 400HP or more, and often work 24 hours a day, except for 10 minutes a day to fill the diesel tank. Anyone who buys one of those will get exactly what they want, no work at all!

The comment on Hinkley C is also exactly correct, we will make zero progress, but the power will cost 3 times as much. The future of the country really is in the hands of fools.

Agriculture has a similar problem. The farm machines need to run 12hrs per day, often a long way from a usable electricity supply. 

I see from the trolleybus post that Britain is planning to get on the overhead powered trucks bandwagon. The trials in Sweden and Germany appear to have been technically successful but I don’t see it as a practical idea.

https://insideevs.com/news/331904/worlds-first-electric-road-ehighway-for-electric-trucks-opens-in-sweden/

https://insideevs.com/news/440388/germany-a5-autobahn-catenary-overhead-lines-trucks/

ebee: 
 

Zoomup: 
 

Perhaps we should have electric rails sunk into roads like Scalextric. Or use overhead supplies.

How 'Trolleybuses' provided Britain's first pollution-free public transport | Daily Mail Online

 

Z.

I do not think they could be considered pollution free. Where does the Lektrik Come from?

I think that, at best, you`ve allowed it to be produced in possibly the least pollutive means, then use it somewhere else. A gain yes OK but not totally free by a long chalk

Don't worry ebee mate. We will all be forced to use bikes soon.

Highway Code changes will see cyclists given more rights than motorists at junctions | Daily Mail Online

Z.

Overheads everywhere? Stupid idea, and fantastically expensive!