The Oil Drum

For the past week I have been in the United Kingdom, beginning in South-West Scotland, where the weather was not kind. I was struck, driving along beside the dams of the Galloway Hydro Scheme with the central dam spilling, and rain sheeting down, by the limits that there are on some forms of renewable power. Here, with fields flooded (all the way down to the Pennines) the limited capacity of the system to store energy above a certain point is a bound that is also found in systems such as wind farms which generally produce power between two limiting wind conditions. Seeking options in a Glasgow hotel for things to do, the front desk suggested either the bar or a movie in one's room. And while this is really the best of seasons for Hunting the Haggis we chose, instead to take a day in Edinburgh before taking the, surprisingly un-crowded, train down to London. Our train was only slightly delayed by track-work to repair weather-related problems, which were not as bad as elsewhere.

The vast numbers of folk trying to move through London's airports this weekend were providing a good reason to show up at least two hours before departure, and though we were ready for the shuttle two-and-a-half hours before departure at the local hotel, the problems the shuttle had with traffic made it just barely possible for us to catch our plane. As we headed across the waiting lounge, however, the thought of a ten-hour flight caused me to stop and snatch a copy of the recent Special Edition of Newsweek, dealing with the Energy Issue. Since I just got back, I am not quite sure how much of this has already been covered, but perhaps I can provide comment to some of the articles in the issue.