Knowing Methil, I blame too much drink!- A UFO incident occurs between the Methil Power Station in Fife and Craigowl Hill in Forfarshire
Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
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Bernard Woolley
- Posts: 1283
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Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
“Frankly, I had enjoyed the war… and why do people want peace if the war is so much fun?” - Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart
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Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1921
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Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
It certainly isn't a case of abuse of the cursed al-kuhul, but of a UFO suddenly being detected over the North Sea, coming in over the Firth of Forth, making landfall next to the power station (which here is an oil fired plant vs coal slurry) and then breaking almost due north before being bought down around Craigowl Hill.
There isn't a crash site there, though, just an emergency clean up of a missile body that landed in an impromptu nocturnal test. Absolutely nothing to see here. Crashed flying saucer? Pft! Are you feeling alright? Just let one of our doctors in black suits scan you with this little handheld whatsit...
There isn't a crash site there, though, just an emergency clean up of a missile body that landed in an impromptu nocturnal test. Absolutely nothing to see here. Crashed flying saucer? Pft! Are you feeling alright? Just let one of our doctors in black suits scan you with this little handheld whatsit...
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Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1921
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
A little coda on DE British electrical generation capacity as of 1976:
Hydroelectricity and Wave Power
Welsh Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme: 3000 MW
Scotland Hydroelectric: 2000 MW
Irish Hydroelectric: 1500 MW
Lyonesse Hydroelectic: 1000 MW
Severn Barrage: 10000 MW
- A not inconsiderable amount, compared to 1500-1700 MW in @ Scotland (+ 700 MW pumped storage), 2205 MW in @ Wales and 240 MW in Ireland. The big difference comes in the Severn Barrage, the addition of Lyonesse and some larger projects in Ireland
Oil and Gas
16 oil fired power stations with 15,000 MW (Kingsnorth, Littlebrook, Grain, Ince, Fawley, Northfleet, Marchwood, Greenwich; Peterhead, Grangemouth, Stirling, Methil; Ker Ys; Kilroot, Poolbeg, Great Island)
12 gas fired power stations with 10,500 MW (Didcot, Teesside, Immingham, Eston Grange, South Humber Bank, Coryton, Pembroke, Cowes, Kingston-on-Thames; Avalon; Ballylumford; Dundee)
- A couple of different ones, and it is noteworthy that the earlier advent of large scale nuclear power did abbreviate some of the late 1950s programmes for more oil power stations
Coal
32 coal fired power stations with 33,980 MW (Drax 4000, Cottam 2000, , West Burton 2000, Battersea 1000, Barking 400, Ironbridge 1000, Skelton Grange 500, Lynemouth 400, Willington 400, Croydon 400, Wilford 400, Dunston 400, Bankside 400, Kearsley 360, Leicester 360, Blackwall Point 360, Huddersfield 360; Longannet 2000, Cockenzie 2400, Kincardine 1200, Braehead 1200; Lyonesse 1800, Caer Tristan 800, Cathbad 800; Merthyr 2000, Haven 1600, Uskmouth 1200, Carmarthen Bay 640; Aghada 640, Edenderry 480, Belfast 2000, Coolkeeragh 480)
Of the current coal plants, Barking (400), Battersea (1000), Ironbridge (1000), Blackwall Point (360), Huddersfield (360), Kearsley (360), Croydon (400), Willford (400), Bankside (400), Dunston (400), Leicester (400), Lynemouth (400), Skelton Grange (500), Braehead (1200), Cathbad (800), Caer Tristan (800), Uskmouth (1200), Carmarthen Bay (640), Edenderry (480) and Coolkeeragh (480) are due to close by 1980 in light of the fusion revolution, leaving just 10 reasonably new coal plants across the British Isles in operation.
- This is of course a significantly different situation, with the majority of British coal being used for non-electrical generation purposes, which is in stark contrast with @ after 1930 or so.
Nuclear Power
6 Gen 1 Nuclear Power Stations with 6000 MW: Windscale/Calder Hall, Chapelcross, Berkeley, Bradwell, Hartlepool, Hunterston (4 x 250 MW)
34 Gen 2 Nuclear Power Stations with 68,000 MW: Hinkley Point, Trawsfynyd, Dungeness, Sizewell, Oldbury, Wylfa, Heysham, Torness, Dounreay, Malin (Northern Ireland), Arklow (Southern Ireland), Kilmelford (Scotland), Ullapool (Scotland), Moidart (Scotland), Inverbervie (Scotland), Amble (Northumberland), Hinderwell (North Yorkshire), Skipsea (West Yorkshire), Theddlethorpe (Lincolnshire), Weybourne (Norfolk), Isle of Grain (Kent), Drakelow, Padiham, Wakefield, Neston, Kirkstall, Ribble, Doncaster, Westwood, Stourport, Inverkip (Scotland), Aberthaw (Wales), Randernesse (Lyonesse), Moneypoint (Ireland) (4 x 500 MW)
5 Fusion Power Stations with 10000 MW: Springfields, Windscale, Darkmoor, Bramford and Brough-on-Humber (4 x 2500 MW)
(+ Tilbury, Weston-super-Mare, Empingham, Redditch and Huddersfield due to be completed in August, March 1977, June 1977, December 1977 and February 1978)
(+ Further fusion plants are planned for Pennard, Greenfield, Borstal, Chesterfield, Marchwood, Cattawade, Spalding-on-Wash, Marnham, Godmanchester, Henley, Blyth, Londonderry, Shannon, Chapelcross and Torness over the next 12 years, along with new fusion powered reactors on the site of current nuclear power plants at Hinkley Point, Sizewell, Bradwell, Berkeley, Trawsfynydd, Heysham and Hartlepool)
- Up and atom!
That equals:
Hydroelectricity and Tidal: 153.3 TWh (8.37%)
Oil: 131.4 TWh (7.17%)
Gas: 91.98 TWh (5.02%)
Coal: 297.6648 TWh (16.24%)
Wind: 42.4 TWh (2.31%)
Solar: 29.6 TWh (1.62%)
Nuclear: 648.24 TWh (52.56 TWh Gen 1 + 595.68 TWh Gen 2) (35.37%)
Fusion: 438 TWh (5 x 87.6) (23.9%)
Total: 1832.5848 TWh
- This compares to 2024’s 628.092 TWh, with the note that DE Britain, with her larger population, industry and electrification, has a demand for upwards of 1500 TWh, and more coming
- The planned fusion plants will leave that behind in the dust, opening up a variety of new industrial potential (aluminium refining, various chemical and fertiliser plants), synthetic fuels, hydrogen, computerisation, even more electrification, development of advanced batteries, export and 'things to do with space'
Hydroelectricity and Wave Power
Welsh Mountains Hydroelectric Scheme: 3000 MW
Scotland Hydroelectric: 2000 MW
Irish Hydroelectric: 1500 MW
Lyonesse Hydroelectic: 1000 MW
Severn Barrage: 10000 MW
- A not inconsiderable amount, compared to 1500-1700 MW in @ Scotland (+ 700 MW pumped storage), 2205 MW in @ Wales and 240 MW in Ireland. The big difference comes in the Severn Barrage, the addition of Lyonesse and some larger projects in Ireland
Oil and Gas
16 oil fired power stations with 15,000 MW (Kingsnorth, Littlebrook, Grain, Ince, Fawley, Northfleet, Marchwood, Greenwich; Peterhead, Grangemouth, Stirling, Methil; Ker Ys; Kilroot, Poolbeg, Great Island)
12 gas fired power stations with 10,500 MW (Didcot, Teesside, Immingham, Eston Grange, South Humber Bank, Coryton, Pembroke, Cowes, Kingston-on-Thames; Avalon; Ballylumford; Dundee)
- A couple of different ones, and it is noteworthy that the earlier advent of large scale nuclear power did abbreviate some of the late 1950s programmes for more oil power stations
Coal
32 coal fired power stations with 33,980 MW (Drax 4000, Cottam 2000, , West Burton 2000, Battersea 1000, Barking 400, Ironbridge 1000, Skelton Grange 500, Lynemouth 400, Willington 400, Croydon 400, Wilford 400, Dunston 400, Bankside 400, Kearsley 360, Leicester 360, Blackwall Point 360, Huddersfield 360; Longannet 2000, Cockenzie 2400, Kincardine 1200, Braehead 1200; Lyonesse 1800, Caer Tristan 800, Cathbad 800; Merthyr 2000, Haven 1600, Uskmouth 1200, Carmarthen Bay 640; Aghada 640, Edenderry 480, Belfast 2000, Coolkeeragh 480)
Of the current coal plants, Barking (400), Battersea (1000), Ironbridge (1000), Blackwall Point (360), Huddersfield (360), Kearsley (360), Croydon (400), Willford (400), Bankside (400), Dunston (400), Leicester (400), Lynemouth (400), Skelton Grange (500), Braehead (1200), Cathbad (800), Caer Tristan (800), Uskmouth (1200), Carmarthen Bay (640), Edenderry (480) and Coolkeeragh (480) are due to close by 1980 in light of the fusion revolution, leaving just 10 reasonably new coal plants across the British Isles in operation.
- This is of course a significantly different situation, with the majority of British coal being used for non-electrical generation purposes, which is in stark contrast with @ after 1930 or so.
Nuclear Power
6 Gen 1 Nuclear Power Stations with 6000 MW: Windscale/Calder Hall, Chapelcross, Berkeley, Bradwell, Hartlepool, Hunterston (4 x 250 MW)
34 Gen 2 Nuclear Power Stations with 68,000 MW: Hinkley Point, Trawsfynyd, Dungeness, Sizewell, Oldbury, Wylfa, Heysham, Torness, Dounreay, Malin (Northern Ireland), Arklow (Southern Ireland), Kilmelford (Scotland), Ullapool (Scotland), Moidart (Scotland), Inverbervie (Scotland), Amble (Northumberland), Hinderwell (North Yorkshire), Skipsea (West Yorkshire), Theddlethorpe (Lincolnshire), Weybourne (Norfolk), Isle of Grain (Kent), Drakelow, Padiham, Wakefield, Neston, Kirkstall, Ribble, Doncaster, Westwood, Stourport, Inverkip (Scotland), Aberthaw (Wales), Randernesse (Lyonesse), Moneypoint (Ireland) (4 x 500 MW)
5 Fusion Power Stations with 10000 MW: Springfields, Windscale, Darkmoor, Bramford and Brough-on-Humber (4 x 2500 MW)
(+ Tilbury, Weston-super-Mare, Empingham, Redditch and Huddersfield due to be completed in August, March 1977, June 1977, December 1977 and February 1978)
(+ Further fusion plants are planned for Pennard, Greenfield, Borstal, Chesterfield, Marchwood, Cattawade, Spalding-on-Wash, Marnham, Godmanchester, Henley, Blyth, Londonderry, Shannon, Chapelcross and Torness over the next 12 years, along with new fusion powered reactors on the site of current nuclear power plants at Hinkley Point, Sizewell, Bradwell, Berkeley, Trawsfynydd, Heysham and Hartlepool)
- Up and atom!
That equals:
Hydroelectricity and Tidal: 153.3 TWh (8.37%)
Oil: 131.4 TWh (7.17%)
Gas: 91.98 TWh (5.02%)
Coal: 297.6648 TWh (16.24%)
Wind: 42.4 TWh (2.31%)
Solar: 29.6 TWh (1.62%)
Nuclear: 648.24 TWh (52.56 TWh Gen 1 + 595.68 TWh Gen 2) (35.37%)
Fusion: 438 TWh (5 x 87.6) (23.9%)
Total: 1832.5848 TWh
- This compares to 2024’s 628.092 TWh, with the note that DE Britain, with her larger population, industry and electrification, has a demand for upwards of 1500 TWh, and more coming
- The planned fusion plants will leave that behind in the dust, opening up a variety of new industrial potential (aluminium refining, various chemical and fertiliser plants), synthetic fuels, hydrogen, computerisation, even more electrification, development of advanced batteries, export and 'things to do with space'
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Bernard Woolley
- Posts: 1283
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 4:06 pm
- Location: Earth
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
No Northmoor? I’m disappointed! 
On a serious note, with fusion, the U.K. can bin dirty stuff like coal and oil, and use it for better things.
On a serious note, with fusion, the U.K. can bin dirty stuff like coal and oil, and use it for better things.
“Frankly, I had enjoyed the war… and why do people want peace if the war is so much fun?” - Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart
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Simon Darkshade
- Posts: 1921
- Joined: Thu Nov 17, 2022 10:55 am
Re: Dark Earth Timeline Discussion
Consider the name Darkmoor. Facilities there aren’t illegally producing plutonium, but actively and legally doing so, and have the word ‘Dark’ in the name. Spooky! Mystical! Bob Peck turning into a treeee!
Quite right on the potential of fusion to minimise the need for coal and oil to be more than secondary or tertiary sources of power in the coming decades. This has positive effects on things such as clean air, but also frees up coal and oil for different uses, such as plastics, chemicals, rocket fuel, SS Structurals, fertiliser and more; insulates the country from potential economic/resource pressures; and channels excess resources and electrickity into exports.
Quite right on the potential of fusion to minimise the need for coal and oil to be more than secondary or tertiary sources of power in the coming decades. This has positive effects on things such as clean air, but also frees up coal and oil for different uses, such as plastics, chemicals, rocket fuel, SS Structurals, fertiliser and more; insulates the country from potential economic/resource pressures; and channels excess resources and electrickity into exports.