Posted on 06/12/2023 1:52:54 PM PDT by grundle
Rush to turn on air conditioning during heatwave causes spike in demand for electricity
Britain has started burning coal to generate electricity for the first time in a month and a half, after the heatwave made solar panels too hot to work efficiently.
One unit at Uniper’s Ratcliffe-on-Soar coal power plant in Nottinghamshire started producing electricity for the first time in weeks on Monday morning, while another coal-powered plant was warmed up in case it was needed by the early afternoon.
The National Grid turned to coal to generate electricity as a rush to turn on air conditioning and fans across the country during the heatwave led to a spike in demand.
High temperatures over the weekend also reduced the amount of energy generated from solar panels. Output on Sunday was almost a third lower than a week earlier, despite temperatures climbing above 30 degrees celsius across large parts of the country.
Solar panels are tested at a benchmark of 25C. For every degree rise in temperature above this level, the efficiency is reduced by 0.5 percentage points.
The temperature level refers to the solar cell temperature, rather than the air temperature. In direct sunlight, the cells can easily reach 60 or 70 degrees.
Alastair Buckley, professor of organic electronics at the University of Sheffield, said: “Both days were largely sunny in the morning, so a good part of the reduction in output will be due to the efficiency reduction from higher temperatures on Saturday compared to Friday.
“Compared with a cool cloudy day, the cells might be a maximum of 25pc less efficient.”
Supply was also lower because of depressed wind speeds, which hit turbine output, and some gas power plants being shut for maintenance.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
So if it gets hot solar panels don’t work well. The idiocy of all this is just too much.
Shouldn’t they require rolling blackouts be in effect for a time before daring to fire up coal?
Seriously. This is a Goldilocks technology at best - sun has to be out, the day has to be long enough, it has to be sunny but not to hot.
WTF? That’s like saying water makes the hydroelectric plants too wet to make electricity.
Ireland’s EIR grid issued a power reduction due to low winds the solar system can’t keep up with demand.
Hell in Utopia arrives DUH
Someone should point out to these geniuses that solar doesn’t work too well when it’s raining and when the sun sets.
The starry eyed leftist extremist climate cult fools get excited about all of the benefits of solar and don't want to hear of the limitations.
When you actually live with solar, as we do, you experience both.
The starry eyed leftist extremist climate cult fools get excited about all of the benefits of solar and don't want to hear of the limitations.
When you actually live with solar, as we do, you experience both.
bttt
“So if it gets hot solar panels don’t work well. The idiocy of all this is just too much.”
And lest we forget, electric car batteries don’t hold charge if it’s too cold.
https://insideevs.com/news/628558/tesla-model-s-cold-charging-issue/
So solar panels don’t work well in intense sun.
Who knew?
At least the Brits are being pragmatic.
The Biden administration would just allow blackouts to happen, saying it's for our own good (save the planet!).
Talk about timing for this bit of news.
It's Always Something.
If you've got an electric car, live in Florida and are tying to escape from a hurricane and your car gets salt water in the battery - the car catches on fire...
No, no-—it says in the instruction sheet if the sun is shining on a hot day you should just get under it and stay in the shade. Then use a hand crank ice crusher until it gets dark.
Solar panels work fine in CA in 110 degree heat.
You just can’t make this $hit up.
but, but... global warming!
Well they could put them in some kinda big air conditioned greenhouse or something like that.
Or at least build a big awning over them so they’ll be in the shade.
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