• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About
  • Podcast
  • Archives

Atomic Insights

Atomic energy technology, politics, and perceptions from a nuclear energy insider who served as a US nuclear submarine engineer officer

Back from the UK

June 25, 2005 By Rod Adams

My family and I just returned from a terrific coach tour of the UK and Ireland. I liked being a passenger; it gave me the opportunity to see a lot of the country. As people that know me might suspect, I paid a good deal of attention to the energy infrastructure that I could see from coach.

As is fairly commonly known, retail gasoline prices are much higher, even though the wholesale price for that commodity is a bit less in the UK than it is in the United States. (Great Britain is still a net oil exporter and is home to a number of large, modern refineries.) The difference in retail prices are the taxes imposed by the federal and local governments.

Specifically, we (even my 20 and 21 year old daughters pay attention to gas prices) that the price for a liter of petrol was pushing one pound stirling in England and Scotland and was in excess of 1.25 euros in Ireland. Translating that to US dollars per gallon gives one a price of $6.90. (I have to digress – just upgraded to MAC OS 10.4 – Tiger and used a couple of Dashboard wigets including the Converter and Calculator to punch those numbers. GREAT stuff!)

While traveling through the center of the country, we passed by a couple of nuclear power plants quietly performing their mission and also passed a number of coal fired plants. Apparently those plants were built near mines; I did not see any of the long trains full of coal that are normally near the plants close to my home.

We also had the opportunity to see some very large wind turbines in southern Wales. I had been staring at the large high voltage transmission lines that snake all over that industrialized portion of the country when one of my daughters pointed out the huge white windmills off on a distant hill. I would guess that the turbines, including the blades were easily 2 times as tall as the high voltage towers. It may be that some people like the way that they look, but I personally prefer open vistas.

While traversing the Irish Sea, I noticed that it was a pretty busy place. I wonder how the ferries, fishermen, sailors and commercial vessel operators are going to feel about off shore wind turbine development.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

About Rod Adams

Rod Adams is an atomic energy expert with small nuclear plant operating and design experience, now serving as a Managing Partner at Nucleation Capital, an emerging climate-focused fund. Rod, a former submarine Engineer Officer and founder of Adams Atomic Engines, Inc., one of the earliest advanced nuclear ventures, has engaged in technical, strategic, political, historic and financial discussion and analysis of the nuclear industry, its technology and policies for several decades. He is the founder of Atomic Insights and host and producer of The Atomic Show Podcast.

Please click here to subscribe to the Atomic Show RSS feed.

Primary Sidebar

Categories

Join Rod’s pronuclear network

Join Rod's pronuclear network by completing this form. Let us know what your specific interests are.

Recent Comments

  • David on Atomic Show #297 – Krusty – The Kilopower reactor that worked
  • Rod Adams on Atomic Show #297 – Krusty – The Kilopower reactor that worked
  • David on Atomic Show #297 – Krusty – The Kilopower reactor that worked
  • Rod Adams on Atomic Show #297 – Krusty – The Kilopower reactor that worked
  • paul wick on Atomic Show #297 – Krusty – The Kilopower reactor that worked

Follow Atomic Insights

The Atomic Show

Atomic Insights

Recent Posts

Atomic Show #297 – Krusty – The Kilopower reactor that worked

Nuclear energy growth prospects and secure uranium supplies

Nucleation Capital’s Earth Day in Atherton

Atomic Show #296 – Julia Pyke, Director of Finance Sizewell C

Solar’s dirty secrets: How solar power hurts people and the planet

  • Home
  • About Atomic Insights
  • Atomic Show
  • Contact
  • Links

Search Atomic Insights

Archives

Copyright © 2022 · Atomic Insights

Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy