3 thoughts on “UK Electricity Grid – OCGT (Emergency Gas Generators) On”
Some bounder has cut half the cables between the UK and France reducing throughput by half to 1GW. This is not going to help either. Although in the grand scheme of things it is the planned reduction of reserve which is being highlighted by Gridwatch.
Funny how wind is touted as our saving grace for a carbon-free energy future, but no one talks about the down time when straight-line winds, tornadoes, or cyclones wreak havoc on the infrastructure. Sure you can lock down windmills if the wind gets too strong, but straight-line winds can be well over 100 mph and are going to cause damage over a large scale because those blades are a direct resistance to laminar wind flow, just as trees are. And over a couple hundred kilometers’ length, if wind fields were centered in one, you’d wipe out many many MW’s of generating capacity in one fell swoop.
I love coal and nat gas. I also love nuclear. Wind and solar? Meh, not so much.
sunshine hours 
Some bounder has cut half the cables between the UK and France reducing throughput by half to 1GW. This is not going to help either. Although in the grand scheme of things it is the planned reduction of reserve which is being highlighted by Gridwatch.
http://www.thegwpf.com/winter-power-crunch-fears-as-uk-france-cables-severed-during-storm/
Reblogged this on Climate Collections.
Funny how wind is touted as our saving grace for a carbon-free energy future, but no one talks about the down time when straight-line winds, tornadoes, or cyclones wreak havoc on the infrastructure. Sure you can lock down windmills if the wind gets too strong, but straight-line winds can be well over 100 mph and are going to cause damage over a large scale because those blades are a direct resistance to laminar wind flow, just as trees are. And over a couple hundred kilometers’ length, if wind fields were centered in one, you’d wipe out many many MW’s of generating capacity in one fell swoop.
I love coal and nat gas. I also love nuclear. Wind and solar? Meh, not so much.