by Will Jones
Solar power is threatening to overwhelm the UK electricity grid this summer as gluts of supply create a risk of blackouts and leave households and businesses facing being asked to consume excess power. The Telegraph has the story.
Energy chiefs are drawing up plans to stop the electricity grid being overwhelmed by solar power this summer.
The National Energy System Operator (Neso) said it would be forced to use “more tools, more often” to keep power networks stable when sunny weather caused surges in energy generation.
This would include paying households and factories to consume excess power for the first time, as well as potentially issuing unprecedented orders to switch off large power stations.
Neso issued the warning as Rachel Reeves travelled to Washington, where she is expected to urge a gathering of world leaders to “follow her plan” to combat the energy crisis caused by the conflict in the Middle East.
At the International Monetary Fund summit, the Chancellor will call for “collective action” while urging countries to embrace Net Zero to boost energy security.
She will also pledge to “do all in her power to keep costs down for the British public”, warning against “knee-jerk decisions that are unaffordable and deepen economic pain”. …
In its summer outlook, published on Tuesday, Neso said war in Iran would push prices higher because of Britain’s dependence on gas, but that it had no concerns about the security of electricity supplies this summer.
However, it warned that gluts of solar power and “low demand” periods were making the grid more difficult to manage as Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary, rolled out swathes of new wind and solar farms to hit Net Zero.
Grid instability occurs when energy demand is low but renewables still generate large amounts of power. If not counterbalanced, this can trigger blackouts.
But many onshore solar and wind farms are not directly connected to the main transmission system and cannot be managed by Neso, which is tasked with keeping electricity networks stable.
It means it must balance the system in other ways, such as paying larger power plants to turn off or paying consumers to ramp up demand.
The amount of solar on the grid has more than doubled to 22 gigawatts in the past decade, as households and businesses have sought to cut their power bills by installing rooftop panels.
Worth reading in full.
