Posted on 01/23/2023 10:10:21 PM PST by dennisw
The UK’s grid operator asked three coal-fired power units to be ready to generate on Monday as it boosts electricity supplies during a cold snap.
It would be the first time this winter National Grid Plc uses the reserve. The units are warming up and will be ready to generate electricity early Monday if needed. Demand is set to surge during a spell of freezing weather in the UK just as wind speeds drop — curbing supply.
It will also use a new tool that pays homes to reduce consumption between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. Monday, when forecasts show margins will be tighter than normal. The so-called demand flexibility service was tested during a cold spell in December.
“This does not mean electricity supplies are at risk and people should not be worried,” National Grid said on Twitter. “These are precautionary measures.”
(Excerpt) Read more at mining.com ...
The air is too calm over the UK right now. Windmills are not generating electricity. So bring in the coal burning “backup” plants for some real power...
Or freeze in the dark with your windmills. Even the dopey feminist, save the planet, Greenies might snap to it after a good freeze.
Coal. It’s what’s for winter!
But...coal, is a four letter word!
Greenies are to steeped in their Gaia worship to accept reality. I say let them achieve the temperature of their surroundings to save their precious god.
I’ll be happy to burn coal, oil, and use decaying atoms to stay warm.
Did I read that correctly? Are daily brownouts going to become normalized in the UK like in a third world country?
Wussies! Green Bay Packer fans watch home football games half nekkid. The Germans should grow a set. Of course booze won’t freeze in the freezer at -10. I’m not judging fans, just saying. 😎
Has anyone else noticed that these Cold Snaps always seem to happen during winter-time?
+1 for humiliation
Yes to coal, wind and whatever provides energy. It’s all better than having a wood stove running in every suburban house and smoking up the neighborhoods during inversions. But even wood stoves are good where and when needed, especially rocket stove mass heaters. :)
No. This is straightforward contingency planning. We’re getting towards the end of the second sustained colder-than-average spell here this winter. So far, despite all the media noise, there have been no significant outages or shortages.
There’s a tendency here to overestimate the UK’s current reliance on wind power. In fact over the last year wind supplied on average 26% of the total energy supplied. It’s a significant figure, but only one component of a diverse energy budget.
FWIW, European natural gas prices are now below their levels of a year ago...
I am on a permie/permaculture list from Montana. They talk about “especially rocket stove mass heaters” all the time. They are out your way.
“There’s a tendency here to overestimate the UK’s current reliance on wind power. In fact over the last year wind supplied on average 26% of the total energy supplied. It’s a significant figure, but only one component of a diverse energy budget.”
You all need to start fracking. Wind is maybe 3% of US Electric generation. Most of your coal deposits probably have frackable natural gas.
Unfortunately that now seems less and less likely, and primarily for geological rather than political reasons. Cuadrilla, the company which conducted all the UK trials, has now folded. The geologist who was its founder and CEO, formerly an ardent fracking advocate, now says he no longer believes it will be commercially viable in the UK. The suitable shale beds are too small and compartmentalised. There simply aren't the extensive, easily accessible beds you're lucky to have in the US. You're right to say that there's still plenty of unexploited coal: but the coal measures are apparently unsuitable for fracking
Bringing up coal plant online is the dirtiest part of the cycle. Now they get to bring them online from zero. Well at least they haven’t disassembled them yet.
Hydrocarbons are natures battery.
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