JoNova
A science presenter, writer, speaker & former TV host; author of The Skeptic's Handbook (over 200,000 copies distributed & available in 15 languages).
Jo appreciates your support to help her keep doing what she does. This blog is funded by donations. Thanks!
Follow Jo's Tweets To report "lost" comments or defamatory and offensive remarks, email the moderators at: support.jonova AT proton.me
Statistics
Britain could face months of Blackouts due to Net Zero –
https://dailysceptic.org/2025/05/11/britain-could-face-months-long-blackouts-because-of-net-zero/
150
Blackouts like Spain’s are increasingly likely but a months long black start is extremely unlikely. Only month long blackout I know of was when Montreal lost the super high voltage transmission ring around the city in an ice storm. It took a month to resupply and rebuild.
141
David, what do you make of this piece on the Spanish / Portuguese blackouts – I found it interesting
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2025/05/10/im-a-power-engineer-the-iberian-grid-collapse-makes-me-very-afraid-for-britain/
and also this one about the combination of Nuclear and renewables in France
https://notrickszone.com/2025/05/11/expert-assessment-warns-expansion-of-wind-and-solar-energy-jeopardizing-french-power-grid-stability/
100
The first one I have seen and it is a very good summary of how renewables greatly increase unreliability. Will look at the second later if I get a chance. But there always has to be enough dispatchable, mostly thermal, to cover peak (less interconnections) so a lot of the fears are exaggerated.
122
They’ve got access to reliable nuclear power from France for a black start, don’t know what the problem is.
91
Not sure how useful HVDC power would be in that scenario. Adding generation after the grid is restarted and synchronized sure.
70
Aa far as I can see all cross-Channel links are HVDC, no AC.
Also, how much AC power is needed to get a grid going again from a black start?
Goolag AI answers the above question:
It assumes you have proper generators. Wind and solar plantations are not proper generators and have no inertia from 500 tonne stators spinning at 3000 or 3600rpm.
130
50MW or so to start a 660MW unit.
Once you have one up, it can start more.
You also need to recall that there will likely be a need for synchronising power as you bring more up, which the existing grid needs to supply until the new gen is fully synched. This could be 100MW or more to start with, but should drop as things ‘settle’.
Once you have multiple sources ready, you can begin to slowly reconnect the load, being careful to both keep the load increase less than the current spinning reserve, and also to ramp up the generators so that he spinning reserve also increases before you add even more load. You also need to keep an eye on sychronising power as the load increases.
VARS (Volts Amps Reactive) matter as much as, or more than, just Watts – highly inductive loads like motors, or highly capacitive loads like data centres, will consume more energy than a normal power meter shows (“power factor”), so you need to watch the VARS too. Such load often have large “in-rush” on startup – that is, they consume more at startrup than they do in steady state running.
120
David,
I was involved in the construction and commissioning of a gas fired power station in outback whoop whoop in WA. The diesel generators required for the black start had to power the following: –
– ALL the servers and the control room electrics, several kW.
– The first gas turbine had to be spun up electrically to full speed, (or close to), this was to enable the compressors to be running and the fuel to burn as planned, with exhaust out the back. This can be up to 30% of the power production of the single generator. Those compressors move and compress a lot of air.
The turbine is started in open cycle mode, no water pumps, etc. Cooling circuit and ALL control gear for the turbine must be up and running too, add another couple of kW.
In summary, you’d be looking at several hundred kW for the power station, when you include minimum lighting, safety systems and similar. And of course, you need redundancy in the black start, so buy 3 knowing two would work is the BARE minimum.
90
“…stators spinning at 3000 or 3600rpm”
Am I missing something? Stators spinning?
20
Nope…. stators don’t spin. But you do need to energise the armature magnets so that the stators don’t feel left out.
00
Black start with HVDC links poses an interesting challenge. One of the schemes being considered is a system “soft start”. with the HVDC link having the ability to start synchronous condensers from zero speed by ramping up in speed. A bit like most household refrigerators and air-conditioners. An alternative is to effectively use existing hydro generators as synchronous condensers but still go though the ramping up stage for both frequency and voltage. The hydro then acts as the synchronous condensers.
The soft start would require overriding voltage and frequency protection in the backbone of the generators and only connect voltage and frequency sensitive load once the backbone was at voltage and frequency.
As far as I know, there is no HVDC set up for black start on any grid. China has a HVDC grid, which has the capability to transfer power regionally without the need for syntonisation. So that already provides a model for the UK.
70
Don’t forget “Dinorwig Power Station is currently shut down for major repairs and there has been no information on when it will re-open (that supposedly is the best way of starting from a blackout). Over the next five years all of our nuclear stations, bar Sizewell, will be closed. Over the same period our combined cycle gas generator fleet will halve from 30 GW to 15 GW.”
So the UK will suffer increasing blackouts until either new nuclear starts up or the whole country goes black (along with Ireland).
Australia has banned nuclear, banned new coal-fired and hasn’t got any interconnections, and our ‘black start’ relies on Snowy2 being finished before there is a problem.
160
I wonder if SH2 will ever be finished?
And given the huge amount of taxpayer money being thrown away on the project, it is extremely disappointing that there is so little and infrequent real news about it.
https://www.snowyhydro.com.au/news/media/
170
With a huge wage claim currently underway. I’d like to know that I, as a taxpayer, am getting value for money.
I also consider the invested cost in vanity to be zero. So the project looks like a stinker to me. It should be canned without delay.
130
At least Eraring and possibly others have small gas turbines on site that are sufficient to run the ancillaries required to start a single unit, so black start in NSW is possible.
41
Back in the day Swanbank in Brisbane had 2 x 25mmw gas turbines run on diesel for startups, all long gone now.
10
Trump Has Cut National Debt Growth by 92 Percent
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/05/winning-trump-has-cut-national-debt-growth-92/
271
Here are some very good comments by Topher Field about how Americans voted for TRUMP and freedom because TRUMP unashamedly believed in his policies and yet Australians and Canadians voted against freedom (or got the anti-freedom party by default) in their respective elections because their so-called “conservative” candidates believed in nothing. Similarly for Western Europe who are also going against freedom with a glimmer of hope from the UK Reform Party.
https://youtu.be/xcoj0vb0o2I (12.5 mins)
320
Canadians and Australians have not elected ‘far left’ governments, they are centre left democratic socialists.
121
Labor is dominated by the left, Labor right is centre left.
The PM has links to the Communist Party of Australia in the past and is a follower of the late Russian revolutionary Marxist Leon Trotsky as are several at least of other leftist Labor MPs.
81
As the world, except the United States, descends into a darkness dominated by the totalitarianism of the Left, America and its ideals will remain a beacon of hope for those yearning to be free.
One is reminded of the sonnet “The New Colossus” written by Emma Lazarus on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty.
It could be that the United States remains the only free country in the world for some time until the people of the West get some (un)common sense and support and vote for conservative-orientated political candidates who actually believe in something (while free elections are still possible). See also Topher Field video I linked above.
251
“It could be that the United States remains the only free country in the world ”
You’re obviously not measuring countries by their number of spy agencies, secret police and security organisations! America is like alphabet soup with its three-letter Depts, plus long ironic names like ‘Homeland Security’…
10
“It could be that the United States remains the only free country in the world for some time…”
Sad that Britain’s great history from Magna Carta to the 1832 Bill on extending the vote and Disraeli Leap in the Dark
universal male suffrage to eventually votes for women, human adult suffrage has been sent down the memory hole….(Also
don’t forget OZ, once great southern land) and NEVER forget where slavery got abolished by Law. How pervasive authority
eats away at liberty.
00
My belief is that with current energy prices in Victoriastan its cheaper to heat using heat pumps (reverse cycle air conditioning) than with gas.
And in Victoriastan and Australia natural gas prices keep going up and the Victoriastani Government has banned gas connections in new housing.
Do you agree that heat pump heating is cheaper than gas?
Note that despite Australia having very expensive gas locally, we are the world’s fifth largest gas exporter. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_natural_gas_exports?wprov=sfla1
Our Government truly does hate us
230
Gas isnt an option for us but my son agrees. He just converted his house from gas hot water and heating to heat pump hot water and a couple of split systems.
I remember living in Melbourne when we first moved there in the 80s. Gas ducted heating was fantastic in winter (and affordable)
130
I use gas heating of hot water and a “heat pump” for (some) house warming here in Mt. Barker (SA Hills so cooler than Adelaide).
My gas bill (quarterly) is about one tenth of my electricity bill (monthly). I am wondering how to generate electricity from gas. (sark of course).
70
Many years ago I was involved in the NE of Vic with the construction and commissioning of a municipal swimming/gym complex. The facility used a large, gas water heater for the hot water system, (used to heat the air) and multiple heat pumps for heating the pool.
Everything worked well until the first winter. The HPs froze over. When I say froze, I mean they turned into ice blocks at the coils on three sides of the units. The ice being about 5-10cm thick on the outside of the units and a couple on the inside. The HPs then switched into a reverse cycle mode, pumping heat from the pool into the coils and melting the ice. The process was never fully completed, resulting in the buildup of ice, starting at the base until it reached the point of being a fully surrounding enclosure around the coils. The melt water could not get away from the ice bucket and as soon as the unit went back into heating mode the cold water, (which couldn’t get access to any fresh air), quickly refroze.
I was able to remedy the situation a little by incorporating a duct on top of the units so that the very cold exhaust air, which had previously been drawn in to the units from the three sides of the unit, (being spilled from the from fan on top), was effectively ‘thrown’ several metres away from the intake. Previously it was going out of the top and then doing a quick u-turn and going directly back into one or more of the three sides. Hence the ice problem, all it took was a cold humid air supply.
So back to your HPs and cost effectiveness. Yes they are cheap to run. But just like solar at night, how much do you pay when you want sensible energy when the units are frozen or outside of their operating temperature range? If you are to use HPs, ensure that they can ‘breathe’, they need a clear path for the intake AND the exhaust flow from the coils. How many installations actually achieve that?
If we all lived in temperate climates, and the weather never got too hot or too cold, then HPs would be the ideal response. In my experience, ice build up is the killer of these units, and it starts forming when the air temperature gets down to around POSITIVE 2 or 3 Celsius. The coils quickly convert that +2 into a negative and the moist air, after chilling often exceeds the saturation point of the air, it condenses and freezes on the sub-zero coils.
The ultimate solution to the pool heating was a reduction in the heating load by reducing the fresh air delivery to the pool hall and gas assisted heating on the coldest days.
140
We have a heat pump for hot water. 300 ltr Sanden. Our power supply is solar panels and batteries, not connected to the grid. So the heat pump timer is set for day time operation while the solar panels are usually producing and while the air temperature is usually above 3 degrees.
We’re near Ballarat so our night time winter temperature is often 1-3 degrees, and -1 is not a rare event. Our June July average maximum daily temperature is 10-11 degrees. It can be still quite cold when the heat pump kicks in at 9am and we haven’t had any issues with our Heat Pump. (yeah, I will adjust the timer to 11am)
Given our experience, I would think that heat pump hot water would be suitable for at least 90% of Australia’s population at a domestic level. Commercial situations like the pool, which would need to run through the night in sub-zero temps, obviously needs further design/install considerations. Or not be used.
Sanden claims their HWS can run at temps between -10 to 43 deg C. I hope ours doesn’t get to prove that it works at -10.
FWIW – The heat pump efficiency has been great. Uses about 25% of the power our old electric storage HWS did at our previous house, with a similar usage pattern.
20
I love the details provided by the HP manufacturers, for example, they will work down to -10C. Of course they will, just as long as you also follow the statement made a little further down the page, (atmosphere NON condensing).
It’s that little detail that’s thrown in that makes all the difference. Cold and saturated air instantly loses moisture as a liquid if chilled. If chilled to below zero, expect ice.
As an example, at 3:00am overnight tonight, the forecast has Ballarat dropping to 6.6C and 91% RH.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/vic/central/ballarat/next48hours
Using the chart, (see link below). Find the 6.6C line. (move along the X-axis). Then go UP until you hit 91% RH. the right hand axis will tell you how much water is held by the air. If you chill that same mix of air, (by moving from the 6.6C and 91% RH point to the LEFT), you will see that it reaches 100% RH a little above zero C. In other words, condensation will form on coils that are just above zero.
So even tonight, if the coils are worked hard, you could expect ice formation on the coils.
https://afs.ca.uky.edu/sites/afs.ca.uky.edu/files/inline-images/psychrometric_chart.png
30
Yes, the -10 is a claim relating to being able to squeeze some heat energy out of the air at that temp. Not necessarily the practical side of all the equipment working as designed in that environment.
But it still comes back to the domestic application where in Aus it would be used during the day (now that a lot of electrical plans have off peak up to 3pm) instead of programmed to run 11pm to 7am for the old controlled load off peak, like for the conventional storage electric hot water systems. For the vast majority of Aus users the day time operation won’t have the risk and a heat pump would be effective nearly everywhere. Might be trickier day time at the higher elevations.
I should check it out when the real winter arrives, and see if it ices up on the cold mornings. It feels like it’s been quite a mild start. I reckon I’ve probably used less than one third of the firewood I had used to this time last year.
10
Melbourne has close to ideal conditions for heat pumps. In summer, up to 10 times more energy efficient than gas because they are easier to fully insulate and have far better insulation than gas. In winter, in excess of 5 times more energy efficient than gas because they have a COP of around 4, they are better insulated and they do not expel heat to the air as a gas heater must. Anyone with existing solar can get zero cost electricity most days.
The COP reduces as the ambient temperature reduces. Regions that have freezing temperature through the middle of the day in winter would achieve a COP less than 4. It makes sense to run the heat pump through the middle of the day and use the heat capacity of the water to store the energy. So go for a high volume unit that does not require reheating at night.
If you do not have free electricity then grid power heat pump still works out lower energy cost than gas. Gas retail price is around 18c/kWh. Off peak electricity through the middle of the day is not much more than that so the energy saving using heat pump translates to a significant saving in energy cost. Also, eliminating gas gets rid of another service charge.
The insulation in the Sanden heart pump hotwater system is outstanding. We spent a couple of weeks away from home in April and I noticed that there were some days when the heat pump did not even kick in because the unit maintained its temperature above the start up setting for more than 24 hours.
60
120m2 3 bed EER 6 townhouse built on piers located in the nations capital. No solar and old spinning power meter. Gas to premises.
Electric cooking.
Instant gas hot water – run showers at 39degC, max. temp available 50degC for washing up.
Ducted underfloor gas heating from 6 star system set at 19degC max on timer – set off overnight and most daytimes. Generally needed May to August.
Swamp cooler (ducted evaporative) for the odd hot summer day.
Average annual daily electricity consumption 7 kWh.
Average cool/cold weather (6 months) gas consumption 100 MJ/day
Average warm weather (hot water only) gas consumption 18 MJ/day
Very comfortable living. Love the swamp cooler – we can leave all the windows open and have a nice, cool breeze flowing through the house.
Love the ducted gas heating – it gives instant heat and good for warming up the feet on vents. Bathroom outlets are a blessing on those cold winter mornings.
Love the instant hot water – dial up the shower temp you want.
The solar group that came out a few years ago said don’t bother – not enough room for all the panels needed and would not recover installation cost. Must have been one of the honest ones
80
I apologise – how Heat Pump is different from reverse cycle A/C ?
20
Basically the same thing but different names. They’re just split system fridges in reality, moving heat in either one or 2 directions, into the house or out of it, hence the “reverse” aspect.
Some units however only provide cooling not heating, and heating performance is acceptable until you hit -3C or so, and units may turn off for 10-15 minutes for a de-icing cycle. Not good in winter.
There’s nothing like a wood fire…
70
JCII:
I must be behind the times (which I accept) but minus 3C? I remember when I was a boy having to go out and pour warm water on the outside part of the reverse cycle A/C because of icing up. And in summer time in very hot weather having to spray do-ionised water as they got too hot. That was near the beach in Adelaide where minus 3C was unknown.
I guess that A/C reverse cycles are more advanced as I have no such problem here in the hills except the electricity charges.
10
So… -3C is pretty good then?
Or not?
10
Still do not understand, sorry…
Where is the extra efficiency come from?
00
Checkout the video in this link, and the other info.
https://www.heatgeek.com/how-are-heat-pumps-over-100-efficient/
But my attempt to explain it is:
The compressor’s ability to utilise air temperature to convert liquid to gas and back again, and extract/transfer heat energy from the air through that process. The compressor is able to generate say four times more heat energy through this heat transfer than the equivalent electrical power it uses would generate through conventional electrical to element heating methods. i.e. If the compressor uses say 1kwh of power to run, it could produce the equivalent of 4kwh in that heat exchange process.
(ignore that, just watch the video 🙂 )
30
The extra efficiency comes from the air.
If you used a simple resistive heat, you would need to BUY 1kWHr of energy to receive 1kWHr of heat. That is 100% efficient.
On an A/C system, you compress a refrigerant gas, it then has enough pressure to form a HOT liquid. You use the heat from that liquid to heat the air in the room. After losing it’s heat you allow it to expand, (outside the house, but still in the pipe system). As the refrigerant expands it gets very cold, well below ambient temperature. By having a coil of pipe OUTSIDE the house, that cold pipe can gain heat from the ambient air.
When the gas gets back to the compressor it is at ambient temperature and ready to complete the circuit again.
Now look at the energy from the gas point of view. Power added by the compressor, say 1kW, gas gives up heat to the room, since it is very hot, it gives up 4kW as it cools. When it expands, (back to a gas), it gets very cold, (no power flow here, the temperature difference is ALL due to a phase change), when the outside air heats the very cold gas, it soaks up another 3kW of heat energy from the ambient air. So for 1kW of electrical load you get 4kW of heating, an efficiency of 400%.
I hope that helps.
20
I probably annoyed everyone for nothing.
Yes, I was taught aircon basics, and we had reverse cycle aircons for at least 20 years. Use a/c now at times.
When I asked about EXTRA efficiency, I meant difference between them and heat pumps pushed by Vicgov.
If there is no difference, why not to say simply: Reverse Cycle Air Conditioners Should Replace Gas Heaters because of this and that facts?
00
Vladimir,
The reason that some are more efficient that others has a lot to do with the heat transfer from hot to cold and cold to hot. If these are large pipes with a natural ability to radiate, (using fins alone), to come to ambient, then you can ditch the fan. This saves electrical energy and raises the COP.
You can also use a very efficient electrical pump for the refrigerant, same for the air fans. In most cases these are now HV brushless DC motors. These operate without stepping the voltage down to a lower voltage, again saving energy. The motors can often be up in the 95% + efficiency range. And all this raises the COP.
And of course, you can buy some crap from china which claims a COP of 15 but in practice it delivers somewhat differently. Who’d have thunk they’d lie?
10
Oohh…a free lunch! 😁
00
I switched to an RC AC instead of my gas heater quite a few years ago. I’d prefer to use gas, but it’s just too damn expensive. Running the heater cost me $600 for two months many winters ago, I’d hate to think how much it would cost now. My gas heater is a fake log fire one, with only three heat settings, hot, damn hot and hell fire and damnation.
The gas heater has no thermostat control. If it was thermostatically controlled I’d probably run it and keep the lounge at 18-20 degrees. I put in my RC AC, with 8 kw heating, have solar, so run it during the day to get the chill off the house, then it ticks over during the evening.
With the weather the way it is right now, haven’t yet needed to turn on the heating, we’ve come close, but a jumper is cheaper. We only heat one room of the entire house, the lounge, because that’s where we spend most of our time. There is a guy on YT, (technology connections) who just loves heat pumps and has quite a few videos about them and their efficiencies, he also loves renewable energy and EV’s, ignoring that, his other videos are great.
30
With a 3 Generation Family of 7 under one roof – 2 Electric Kitchens, 2 Electric Dishwashers, 2 Electric Washing Machines, 2 Dryers (mainly used by back 5), 2 x 1.2Kw Pool Pumps running Spa(5,000l)plus 1.2kW Pump for Spa Push?, 2 Air Blowers & Pool (85,000l) – SPA & POOL run Off Peak TOD on Smart Meter, 12 External LED Floodlights, House Lights, 5 TVs, Multiple PCs & Laptops, Routers, Ethernet Splitters, DVD Players, X Box, 3 x Fetch Mighty, and 2 x Electric Room Heaters upstairs back of House etc
Eletricty $3,200 per year
Gas – 2 x External Rheem Gas Hot Water Systems, Front Half House Braemer Eco Star Ducted Central Heating mounted external, Raypak P0200a Natural Gas Spa heater (Big & Fast) external mount, Back Half Lower Floor Portable internal Gas Heater
Gas per year $1,200
30
Obviously + 2 Refrigerators
10
I should have mentioned that we have no solar panels and probably never will.
Our hope is on the change of government, because we love our in-floor hydronic heating.
Strange logic, is it not ?
But we live in strange times…
30
FWIW – for the covid record
“Another day, another mRNA”
“Covid vaccine arms race”
“The absolute risk reduction for infection with covid ranges from 0.8 per cent to 1.3 per cent for the covid vaccine, and this has been known since 2022. This means, in the worst case, 120 people must be vaccinated to prevent one infection. For hospitalisation, 2,700 people must be vaccinated, and to prevent a single death, over 10,000 people must be vaccinated.
If the vaccines were ‘safe’ as was claimed early in their rollout, the above figures may be acceptable. In reality, no vaccines are entirely safe, and the covid vaccines have proved to be just about the most unsafe vaccine ever rolled out.
On his Focal Points website, Dr Nicolas Hulscher, who has a Master’s in Public Health, says ‘We Have the Data – It’s Time to Cancel mRNA’. With fully cited information based on studies involving 184million participants, the data clearly indicates the dangers inherent in vaccines that depend on mRNA technology to work. Hulscher shows the increases in risks of the following serious adverse events after administration of covid vaccines:”
More at
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/covid-vaccine-arms-race/
140
FWIW
“The Lady Doth Have a Point: J.K. Rowling ENDS Stupid Argument About Shakespeare and 17th C Trans Folks”
https://twitchy.com/amy-curtis/2025/05/11/jk-rowling-shakespeare-n2412643
90
And
“There It Is! This Is the STUPIDEST Pro-Trans Argument J.K. Rowling Has Ever Heard (and We Agree With Her)”
https://twitchy.com/amy-curtis/2025/05/11/rowling-pope-leo-name-change-is-the-same-thing-as-a-man-becoming-a-woman-n2412654
But, at this pace, could be topped before the day is out!
20
There is the episode in “We of the Never Never” of a “native convert to Christianity” sprung eating beef on Friday. His explanation –
“My name not Charlie but you bin christen me Charlie. So I bin christen him fish”
60
Now that Victoriastan, Australiastan has an mRNA production facility with a capability of 100 million doses per annum, do you think it will sit idle or do you think the Government will find an excuse to force it into you? Australian Governments have already demonstrated their willingness to impose the world’s most draconian lockups and punishments for non-believers during the plandemic.
Goolag AI overview (search term: mrna vaccine australia production):
And who is mRNA Victoria?
And I wonder what the “AI initiatives” are with respect to mRNA?
161
Let’s hope that they only supply their concoctions AFTER obtaining a supply deal where they CANNOT be sued for any damages.
I’d hate to think that the VicDanistan population could be on the line for the legal costs and payouts for any ‘oops’ moments.
Then again…. I bet the products are ‘government’ guaranteed. All debts to be paid for by the masses, (but not the trough dwellers).
Did anyone vote for this plant or was it done for own good?
150
It is going to make
mRNA Victoria is leading the delivery of Moderna’s population-scale mRNA manufacturing facility at Clayton, with capacity to produce up to 100 million vaccine doses per year for diseases including COVID-19, influenza and RSV.
from
Vic Dept of Jobs, Skills, Industries and Regions.
No more flu vax for me then.
60
The real question is, knowing what we now do, who will be need to be forced to take a mandated shot.
Those who just want to be left alone are not the ones to push when they’ve got nothing to lose…bad bad idea…
Mid 2025 now and I guess we’ll find out in 2026. 😎
10
They should just get it 3/4 finished and spend over 100% of the money by the time mRNA vaccines get banned worldwide.
00
Wind Theft is a thing now.
How long before there are lawsuits for stealing someone else’s wind?
70
Let them eat cabbage.
120
Movie: Nosferatu (1922) as mentioned by TdeF yesterday.
Originally a silent movie but modernised with new titles and music.
It was originally ordered to be destroyed by a court due to alleged copyright infringement of Bram Stoker’s Dracula but some copies survived.
It is regarded as a classic today.
https://youtu.be/Km5k5Ap-pRs
40
Surely a more modern version could be made using AI? Albo (with a mindless assistant e.g. Blackout B)?
Set in the country with no electricity.
Or for UK readers perhaps Starmer as lead and Millibrain.
60
Bring back Rubbery figures!? 😉
https://youtu.be/lRGpJS1utGs?si=rl19BfV1KYJ5fVRv
10
FWIW
“A Note On Biotechs”
“There’s a rather interesting thing that’s happened in the sector — across the sector — since Trump’s inauguration.
Stock prices in the sector have crashed; with many names down 50% or more, even among those firms with drugs that are in the approval pipeline with published positive results (that is, awaiting final FDA review.)
This is not the sort of thing you’d expect in a marketplace where reported results from trials are objectively correct. Certainly those firms with a dubious early record that are a “close” judgment call on their particular drugs being developed are one thing; it is the truth that most drug investigations fail.
But this is something different entirely in that the drubbings are pretty-much across-the-board.
This implies that the public markets are saying that the former way of doing business resulted in firms with drugs that were less than honestly reported as to results, or which were approved and thus the companies made money on them despite them not working or perhaps being unsafe.”
More at
https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=253263
110
Very interesting.
That might mean those companies may relocate to countries like Australia where Governments are prepared to ban inexpensive out-of-patent but effective drugs (like HCQ and IVM in the case of covid) and where the same Governments are willing to force defective substances into people.
Because Big Pharma and Big Nanny State Government knows best.
140
Another conniption at Big Pharma –
“BREAKING: President Trump Announces He Will Sign Executive Order to Reduce Pharmaceutical Prices by 30% to 80% Almost Immediately”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/05/breaking-trump-announces-pharmaceutical-prices-will-be-reduced/
50
More
“President Trump Announces Executive Order to Lower Prescription Drug Prices through MFN Policy
May 11, 2025 | Sundance | 164 Comments”
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2025/05/11/president-trump-announces-executive-order-to-lower-prescription-drug-prices-through-mfn-policy/
30
FWIW
“Sec. Chris Wright Is Right to Be a Climate Realist, Colorado Public Radio”
“Don’t call it ‘climate denial,’ Secretary of Energy Chris Wright claims he’s preaching ‘climate realism,’”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/05/11/sec-chris-wright-is-right-to-be-a-climate-realist-colorado-public-radio/
80
Thanks a i,
I plan to adopt the label .climate realist” for myself.
Cheers,
Dave B
00
David
From Chiefio
https://chiefio.wordpress.com/2024/05/07/w-o-o-d-6-may-2024-macron-sends-fflegion-in-russia-nuke-drills-usa-flushes-cash-down-the-drain/#comment-170311
10
“The British government has outlined plans to end what it called the “failed free market experiment” in mass immigration by restricting skilled worker visas to graduate-level jobs and forcing businesses to increase training for local workers.-
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under pressure to cut net migration after the success of Nigel Farage’s right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party in local elections this month. High levels of legal migration were one of the major drivers behind the Brexit vote to leave the EU in 2016. ”
https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/uk-plans-to-end-failed-experiment-in-immigration-20250511-p5ly9a.html
Even in the massive, comprehensive defeat of their ideas they still try to blame the ‘free-market’, even when it was totally Govt controlled!
110
This is England today.
The following is from Paul Joseph Watson. Duration 18 minutes.
Manchester England…sh*thole!
Not for those easily offended by swear words.
Well worth the time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sr4liKZaBE
We don’t hate our politicians nearly enough!
80
Very disturbing.
00
Heavily vaxxed, sick, infertile vaxxed native populations vs expanding unvaxxed cultural enrichers.
Who will win?
20
So how could the world reach net zero by 2050. Here’s Dr Pielke jr’s data by 2050 for Nuclear power plants.. …..
“So the math here is simple: to achieve net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050, the world would need to deploy 3 Turkey Point nuclear plants worth of carbon-free energy every two days, starting tomorrow and continuing to 2050. At the same time, a Turkey Point nuclear plant worth of fossil fuels would need to be decommissioned every day, starting tomorrow and continuing to 2050”.
Or wind turbines per day…….
“I’ve found that some people don’t like the use of a nuclear power plant as a measuring stick. So we can substitute wind energy as a measuring stick. Net-zero carbon dioxide by 2050 would require the deployment of ~1500 wind turbines (2.5 MW) over ~300 square miles, every day starting tomorrow and continuing to 2050. The figure below illustrates the challenge”.
Here’s the link….
Net-Zero Carbon Dioxide Emissions By 2050 Requires A New Nuclear Power Plant Every Day
90
Sorry that link didn’t work, here’s another try and I hope it’s okay.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerpielke/2019/09/30/net-zero-carbon-dioxide-emissions-by-2050-requires-a-new-nuclear-power-plant-every-day/
50
Neville
A suggestion – copy to a new tab and do a check that they work before adding to your post. Then close the check post.
20
This Dr is obviously not a power system engineer. The lowest cost wind/storage system will operate at a CF of 9 to 10%. About 3X overbuild on average output to allow for intermittency combine with the lowest cost battery storage..
Turkey Point has a combined capacity of 2754MW. So three of them would be 8264MW. To match that with wind would require 82,640MW. Using 2.5MW units would require daily installation of 33,000 wind turbines. which is a lot more than 1500.
The required overbuild is slowly being recognised and that is why many regions realise the impossibility of NetZer with currently available technology other than nuclear. Texas has domne the right thing by requiring all generators to offer dispatcgable power. It is far lower cost to use a bit more gas for an existing power plant than to build wind turbines or solar farms to reduce the gas consumption.
More regions will have to recognise freeloaders for what they are or they court grid collapse.
70
There’s an article about coral ‘humming’ along at the ABC News site, and it’s been there for a few days now, one of those longer pieces done in documentary style.
They mention the usual stuff, bleaching, peril etc, but evidently, the coral harvesting is big business. You see some of the images at the article and note how beautiful some of those corals really are, and the colours involved. Some are highly prized and ‘worked up’ into collector pieces.
It made me think back some years now to something I found puzzling, until I checked it out.
My wonderful good lady wife, now sadly passed these two years, because of her health condition of severe epilepsy, was not expected to live beyond sixty, and she actually made it to 80, after 42 wonderful years together.
She was ‘hanging out’ for her 40th Wedding Anniversary, the Ruby Anniversary, and I gave here the whole deal, two sets of earrings, a brooch, a necklace, and a ring, and I was happy to do that.
However, five years before that, (and wanting to give her a gift for our 35th Anniversary) I researched ….. Anniversary Gifts, (as you do, eh!) finding that after a certain number of years, when a lesser gift was appropriate every year, they started to go up in five year increments. When I did check, I found that the practice started in England back in the 1800s, and in fact went back to medieval times.
So, now in the knowledge of what to get, I found a gift store at Yeppoon (we lived in Rockhampton at the time) and on the day, we went there. (and I hadn’t told her about this, with just a card on the morning)
When we walked to the counter, I mentioned she could choose her Anniversary gift.
‘Umm, where,” was the response.
I pointed to the pretty large array of coloured corals and said she could take her pick.
Now puzzled as to this turn of events, it was a polite response of 35 years of marriage, and all I get is a piece of coral!!
I now had to explain it all, so lucky I’d done the research.
Now ….. back when these gifts were originally worked out, in England, Coral was indeed very rare, only coming form far far away, and hardly seen by anyone, and now considered to be of great value, so the 35th Anniversary was the Coral Anniversary.
Okay scroll forwards to current times, when coral is, well perhaps not as sought after as it was 200 plus years back, and everyone knows about coral now, and it’s seemingly pretty bland really, so they now have a more ‘modern’ updated gift, umm, American inspired. (who would have guessed) That new Anniversary gift is Jade, and guess what we ended up getting, and I still have both Jade Obelisks I ended up procuring. (hers and his)
It’s amazing how things change over time.
Link to Anniversary Gifts (just scroll down a little)
Tony.
170
https://open.substack.com/pub/rwmalonemd/p/dangerous-games?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=15jnh4
So we have a ex lover of a worker in a BSL4 facility poke holes in the suit of another worker. How close did Ft Derricks come to another Wuhan spill.
Never fear we have Danistans clot shot factory ready to go to inject toxic poison into everyone’s arms,which most people will line up and eagerly accept.
101
Ummm – Fort Detrick
10
FWIW – Canada
“Canada’s GST no longer covers the interest on its national debt.
All of the GST you pay simply goes to bondholders.”
https://x.com/Tablesalt13/status/1921358832770404733
Via https://www.smalldeadanimals.com/2025/05/11/its-probably-nothing-206/
How is Oz going in the contest?
40
FWIW
“COAL IS CHEAP AND RELIABLE ….. AND GROWING IN DEMAND”
https://richardsonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Coal-Fired-Power-Stations.jpg
https://richardsonpost.com/cliff-reece/39583/coal-is-cheap-and-reliable-and-growing-in-demand/
50
AI has a big appetite, which requires a lot of energy.
‘The rise of artificial intelligence, advanced computing, and electrification are creating massive new power demands. Data centers alone could account for nearly half of new electricity demand by 2028. Companies like Meta are investing billions in facilities that stretch for miles and require dedicated power plants just to operate.
‘This brings us to the central challenge of our time: America cannot win the AI race without abundant, affordable, reliable energy. Full stop. America must win the AI race.’ (David Holt / wuwt)
51
The Australian Government wants lots of AI and data centres in Australia, presumably to keep a better track and control of dissident political opinions, but it also wants Net Zero and no nuclear.
It can’t have both data centres/AI and Net Zero/no nuclear.
Pick one.
70
AI is coming too fast and nuclear development could take a decade, so I suggest dedicated coal fire power plants, built and maintained by data centres.
No taxpayer money involved and it would take pressure off the electricity system.
31
Data centres are one thing, AI another.
AI is making massive advances, AZR is one example and the future. The AI singularity is almost here. Maybe it’s already here but we just can’t understand it.
Monkey brains won’t be able to keep up.
10
FWIW – power games
“Sunnova Hype pre-Bankruptcy”
““Our Founder and CEO John Berger reminds us why this event is so pivotal: Sunnova and our dealer partners are uniting to tackle the U.S. power demand shortage with American-made solar solutions.” ”
“Notice “by the numbers” above. Unprofitable companies try to chalk up moral victories, while hiding the bottom lines and the analysis behind them. Enron was great at that–so was Berger’s Sunnova.”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2025/05/11/sunnova-hype-pre-bankruptcy/
40
UK households told to ‘stay indoors’ for four hours on Sunday as temperatures soar
Brits are bracing for a scorching Sunday with temperatures set to soar, prompting the Met Office to suggest staying indoors during peak heat hours. The BBC weather forecast predicts London and Manchester will bask in highs of 26C, while Liverpool and Birmingham are not far behind at 25C, and Leeds will see a warm 24C.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/uk-households-told-stay-indoors-35205650
Yes, a “scorching” 26C.
Bet the poms can’t wait for some solar dimming.
And all those “culturally enriching” the country must be freezing and wanting to go back home where it’s warm.
120
You wonder how Once Great Britain conquered and settled much of the known world if they have an inability to tolerate a mild 24C, 25C or 26C day.
110
Not “going out in the midday sun” showing there!
50
Pith helmets. Even today they are taking the pith with Global Warming.
70
Astonishing. Pass the Mint tea and cucumber sandwiches.
30
FWIW
“A Hedge that Worked”
“Russia’s Gold Hedge Profits $96 Billion, Offsets Asset Freeze”
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2025-05-10/russias-gold-hedge-profits-96-billion-offsets-asset-freeze
30
Proof of Noah’s Ark, from a creationist
https://youtu.be/5SZx1Zg59MQ?si=4depfDNlT55xyuID
We don’t understand how it’s possible, therefore proving the invisible sky dude.😁
31
Unbelievable commentary from Rod Sims, guru, on the desperate need for ‘carbon pricing’ to fix ‘productivity’ and ‘gas prices’ etc.
I have no idea what world he inhabits, but it’s not this one. And his mate ‘Ross Garnaut’. How do they get front page news and half a page of the Australian. It’s all utter rubbish.
All the usual nonsense. Green Steel, which doesn’t exist. “The government’s Future Made in Australia strategy” which makes no sense if we have super expensive Green electricity and the most expensive gas, despite being a major exporter.
And the ultimate NIMBY world “The point is that in the fossil fuel world gas and coal can be easily exported so, for example, iron metal is sensibly made overseas. ” So goodbye Bluescope and Infrabuild and Whyalla and Port Kembla and all the electric smelters. Hundreds of thousands of people out of work. Where do you get real genius like this? Increase productivity by closing all manufacturers and make quite ‘sensibly’ get others to make things overseas. Only a professional public servant consultant could come up with such nonsense.
“economic sense in the net zero world to use Australia’s world leading advantage in solar and wind resources for industrial purposes close to where the energy is generated.” So we should use cheap Green electricity to make metals? How?
“The government now needs policies to deal with the externalities? associated with the net zero transition: making up for the lack of a world carbon price, backing early projects that can transfer learning to others, and playing a role with common user infrastructure. It is extremely risky for Australia to have all its economic eggs in the fossil fuel basket.” Such amazing public service meaningless Gobbledegook! For its part, the 80,000 member UN which runs this incredible hoax seems fine with setting an international carbon price on all international shipping to bring in $42Billion a year to the UN. Of course they get the cash for nothing and we get far more expensive imports and exports, a massive UN carbon tariff on everything which moves.
Only 5% of the world’s population suffer massive CO2 taxes. And an expert like this really thinks we do not have such taxes.
What then are the LGCs, STCs, Carbon Credits managed by The Clean Energy department and a massive 35% tax on CO2 for ALL the most productive companies in Australia which actually make things or mine ores or transport anything?
The laughably named “Safeguard Mechanism” which is already closing companies across Australia as we transition to the country which makes nothing. And how does making nothing connect with his desire to increase ‘productivity’. Perhaps we need more expert consultants, like himself? If ignorance was gold, we would be so rich in lifelong professional consultants and intelligentsia like Rod Sims and Ross Garnaut who both demand a ‘price on carbon’.
110
While the US, India, UK and others are trying to stop the attacks on all shipping in the narrow straits next to Yemen and adding billions and weeks to shipping between Europe and Asia, the UN is taxing all shipping for ‘carbon’. So they are doing their bit to make manufactured exports and food trade not affordable. It thought the job of the UN was to resolve international disputes, not profit from them with world wide carbon tariffs? 98% of all goods go by ship and the UN is in it for billions for nothing. But Donald Trump is the problem?
100
And I agree with Stuart Bonds” as reported in The Australian.
‘One Nation Hunter candidate Stuart Bonds has slammed the Albanese government over its claims the safeguard mechanism protects Australian industry when it is “destroying” it.
“As if the safeguard mechanisms are there to protect our coal miners and our coal-fired power stations,” Mr Bonds told Sky News Australia.
“The safeguard mechanism is there to protect net zero. It is a carbon tax put in by the Liberals, but it’s been pushed – the Labor Party will say this is protecting our industry.
“It is not; it is destroying our industry.” ‘
100
Has anyone calculated how much extra CO2 Ansar Allah added in total for 18 months ?
20
The UN says it’s all taxable. Send cash.
00
And I have to quote this from Rod Sims “The best way to do this is via a price on carbon to compensate for the damage fossil fuels do to our environment“. What damage? Who is being ‘compensated’? The Government? Victims of Climate Change overseas?
Also he is thinking of a tax to ‘compensate households’. In a way, in his profound ignorance he is right. A carbon TAX would be visible and return money to the people. We don’t have carbon taxes.
What we have is set of illegal ripoff worthless ‘credits’ for which the cash paid mainly goes overseas to China and the UN and friends. Who now own our means of production, our Solar farms and Wind farms. For which we Australians paid. Plus a new billion or two annually to the UN in our carbon cost of goods imported AND exported by ship. Those sent by aircraft get 35% carbon tax in the Safeguard Mechanism.
90
Also his mate Ross Garnaut, another Labor party illuminati, former Australian ambassador to China and pusher of wind for this own company is saying the same thing. “This world-first analysis examines the potential for Australia to export green energy-intensive goods — such as green iron, steel, aluminium, silicon and ammonia — that embed clean energy into essential materials for the global economy.” to the ever faithful climatebaggers, their ABC.
It’s not as if these two do not stand to benefit greatly from success in pushing their Wind energy on Australians. But no conflict of interest here with Zen Energy
90
Zen’s aggressive expansion was no surprise given public comments over the years from Professor Garnaut, who has pushed to fast-track the country’s move away from fossil fuels. He was also an architect of the Gillard government’s carbon pricing scheme. And his son is CEO of Zen Energy. Nothing to see here folks! Besides, it’s not a conflict of interest. It’s a congruence of interest.
100
Here’s US Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Dr Roger Pielke jr listing many problems about changing over to toxic W & S energy or net zero by 2050.
Roger tells us that this would require a new Nuclear power plant built every DAY until 2050.
And coal plant numbers would have to be retired at the same time.
See at 6 minutes 40 seconds.
IOW zero chance of wasting endless trillions of $ for zero change to climate or weather by 2050 or 2100. Think about it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbUHzVUCBiI
40
Fred, the Head Fish of my pond says there is less 17 days left until Jacinta Allan declares Stage 2 Water Restrictions.
I told him we should object, it is unheard of – to declare Stage 2 before Stage 1.
He replied quite reasonably … I can not repeat here what he said… but he never was wrong before.
100
May The 11th, 1969 is the day John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam formed Monty Python.
The good old days of very politically incorrect humour..
100
It was very funny. Extreme parody. And prescient. Now the remaining members seems to be supporting the very absurdities they once ridiculed. “Why do you want to be a woman, Stan?” “because I want to have babies”.
90
TdeF,
Last I heard, Cleese was speaking up against wokeness. That’s a few years ago. What has he done or said to make you think he now supports that sort of nonsense?
20
He is front page in America today. “Actor John Cleese Suggests Suspending Stephen Miller ‘By the Neck,’ Deletes Tweet”
and many comments on Donald Trump. None of them could be considered funny. “10 Nov 2019 — “It’s been quite clear to me from the very beginning that he is not mentally balanced,” Cleese says of Trump. “He is an extraordinary caricature”
Cleese has been on the Democrat side for years. He used to be a critic of political shennanigans. Now he is part of it.
He is welcome to his opinion, but his latest public comment was appalling given his position. It would hardly go unnoticed. I understand he supports Habeas Corpus, but that is not in a time of invasion as applies to illegal aliens. And he is not an American but a guest. The uproar was National. He could go home and sort out his own government. Unfortunately Cleese is the one looking unbalanced.
20
And at 85 years, John Cleese is no spring chicken and getting grumpier by the year. With his fourth wife now, he has cause. I went to his last Alimony tour. Still the world wishes him well and thanks him for his enormous body of exceptional work. I just hope he doesn’t turn into the Black Knight. Again.
10
Monty Python & The Holy Grail – Bloody Weather…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ72fcHDUC8
Need to tell the climate catastrophists the same…..
20
Proof women don’t need men to do stuff
https://x.com/RickyDoggin/status/1921708479904878746
😆
110
Some of those accidents look deadly. Especially the quad bike.
40
Happy wife. Happy life.
Of course the implementation is more complicated than the saying.
50
The Gawler council was the first council in sunny South Australia to declare a climate emergency on 22 JAN 2019. The very same council is opening up land for housing development, the latest being a rather large parcel of land just west of Gawler. You can’t miss it it’s the land with over 100 gum trees chopped down.
Always remember the climate change movement is a cult and a very poor one at that.
80
F.G.
My father’s recipe for training a sheep dog –
“The wisdom of Solomon
The patience of Job
And the cunning of Judas Iscariot”
Seems an additive rather like that is involved in the complications
10
FWIW – more clearing of the deck
“Another taxpayer-subsidized EV manufacturer goes belly up”
https://truenorthwire.com/2025/05/another-taxpayer-subsidized-ev-manufacturer-goes-belly-up/
Via SDA
20
Am looking for an English-speaking partner to make His Worship Nicholas Reece a winning business proposition:
a) At least double the Free Tram area : from CBD into East and North Melbourne and
b) naturally, double and maybe triple, number of trams in service.
c) No equipment changes are envisaged, except maybe purchase of additional trams
d) though minor modifications to Myki system are unavoidable.
e) Those mods will enable 100% discount for the paying customers at the time of negative kWh network price
f) hence a huge increase of Yarra Trams patronage is expected in place of poisonous IC car usage.
Of course, as sun goes behind a cloud – fair is fair – they will be charged.
There is a minor element of uncertainty there – so what ! We used to it already.
10
FWIW – some unhappiness!
“Leftists are in Complete Meltdown After Pope’s Brother Shared a Video Calling Pelosi a ‘Drunk C***’and Mocks “Crying” Libs with Trump Derangement Syndrome”
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/05/leftist-are-complete-meltdown-after-popes-brother-shared/
00