Phillip Bratby. Where is your evidence that we have fossil fuel resources, which can be converted to reserves, that will last for "hundreds of years"? Resources yes, but not at affordable costs or with appropriate energy gain can they become reserves. Once costs rise above a certain point, renewables are more viable.

I believe current fusion systems require lithium of which resources and reserves are limited.

Idau, thank you! Will the US Navy use it for bigger ships?

EM, I am sure I am not the only one who would like to see Renewables demonstated for 20 years, before trying to live a life dependent on them.

Despite Ed Miliband's best efforts with the disastrous Climate Change Act, the UK population does not seem keen on the idea, and those parts of the world denied access to reliable power supplies all want reliable power supplies not Unreliable Intermittents.

Using 'Smart' meters to ration electricity is not going to impress the electorate. American attempts to enforce compliance with Global Warming diktats are not gojng smoothly, and wind energy in Europe is losing friends.

Even Think Progress is starting to get worried, especially if there is a Brexit vote.

GC:

New Panamax vessels have a larger beam and draft, rather than a big increase in LOA. They're still constrained by the air draft at the Bridge of the Americas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panamax#New_Panamax

SandyS

Sometime you or your descendants will have to learn to live with renewables

When did you develop this delusion that your convenient lifestyle is some kind of natural law?

Gareth, so called Smart meters should be referred to as electricity rationing meters. Domestic users will be the first to lose out.

Satellite imagery captures the efficiency of electricity rationing in North Korea. I wonder if power cuts will be used to prevent live access to images of Green-Outs in the UK.

Windless winter nights during breaks in Coronation Street will be the best time to guarantee maximum dissatisfaction amongst the electorate, especially if it is cold, and people are using electric heating systems.

I don't watch Coronation Street, and I don't think Polar Bears do either. But I will notice the seething outrage being expressed by people, as the Polar Bears seem totally relaxed about their unchanged living arrangements.

Entropic man
Pretty useless I think is an accurate description, typical or not. If my car ran <30% of the time I'd be pretty hacked pff, especially if my second car only ran when the sun was shining and my third at high and low tides. I'd be more than a little unhappy if all three frequently didn't all work at the same time.

As far as wind turbines are concerned 10 minutes research on the internet shows that given the average wind conditions over the year in the UK and the specifications of Siemens and Vestas turbines that a load factor in excess of 30% is unlikely in any year it never ceases to amaze me that wind turbines were ever considered a viable energy source. A further 10 minutes research is all it needs to confirm the fact that wind has never delivered anything worthwhile.

Smart meters ‘not needed’ after all for European power grid

A transition to an intelligent electricity grid in Europe can take place without smart meters, industry players have said, in comments that will embarrass the European Commission, which pushed a Europe-wide plan to roll out smart meters years ago.

There are other more efficient ways than smart meters to help develop intelligent power grids, said industry delegates at the annual convention of Europe’s electricity association Eurelectric, held in Vilnius last week.

British politicians letting NGO activists write laws and regulations like the Climate Change Act has cast a long shadow over our energy grid and economy.

SandyS

The load factor is the actual output of a turbine benchmarked against its theoretical maximum output in a year. The load factor is calculated by RenewableUK as a rolling average of the past five years using data from the Digest of UK Energy Statistics published by the Department of Energy and Climate Change annually in July.
For onshore wind this is 25.74%
For offshore wind this is 34.88%
The load factor for all wind (onshore + offshore) is 28.42%

The 20 year old turbines at Bessy Bell I ran at 25.6% and the newer turbines in Bessy Bell II at 28%. Withe UK onshore average running at 25.74% Bessy Bell is fairly typical.