The hottest day of the year seemed like an unlikely reason to start one of the last remaining coal-fired power plants in the UK.
However, after temperatures reached 32 degrees in parts of the UK on Sunday, the National Grid asked the coal-fired power plant Uniper Ratcliffe-on-Soar for the first time since April to start burning coal to generate electricity.
p>One of the Nottinghamshire power plant's two coal-fired units began supplying the grid early Monday morning, while the other was heated up to be on standby in case it was needed to meet demand in the afternoon.
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This event breaks a 46-day streak of no coal for the National Grid and shows that while the energy shortages experienced in winter may be over, summer brings its own challenges.
The UK has turned to coal. for two reasons: increased demand for electricity as the nation turned on fans and air conditioners; and a lull in supplies.
In the summer, as a rule, gas plants are shut down for maintenance, which means that there is less backup power. On Monday, a failure on the interconnector between the UK and Norway further reduced capacity.
1306 renewable energy sources use
At the same time, summer weather can hit renewable energy sources. Wind energy production has plummeted due to the current heat wave, with the share of wind generated power falling from 22.5% in the past few weeks to just 9.3% on Monday morning.
While sunlight and longer daylight hours provide a net gain in solar energy, heat also makes solar panels less efficient.
As demand for air conditioning grows, there is a looming risk of power outages caused by heat waves, warns Bob Ward. , who works at the ESRC Center for Climate Economics and Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science.
“If we become more dependent on air conditioners, the risk of such interruptions will become much greater. more,” says Ward. “This is a lesson for other countries. The value has the potential to rise in unprecedented ways.”
Even in countries accustomed to hot weather, energy demand can exceed supply in summer, Ward said, causing a voltage drop in the system.
These recessions are sometimes called blackouts.
Britain came close to this last summer. During a heat wave last July, Cornwall Insight warned that demand was «very close» to supply.
On July 18, the difference between demand and what could be produced went negative for two hours. This meant that for a short period, demand was predicted to outstrip supply.
Heat threatens power supply
In other words, the UK is suddenly in danger of a heat blackout.
The problem is exacerbated by the fact that extremely high temperatures reduce the efficiency of power supply. turbines and power lines, which reduces their ability to transmit power.
In July last year, temperatures reached 40 degrees in some parts of the country.
In this case, the disaster was averted after the prediction turned out to be wrong. But it was a warning of what was to come.
In the past, tight system margins in the summer were highly unusual. Now they are becoming a problem.
Cornwall Insight warns that the risk of summer power outages will increase as climate change brings more and more heatwaves.
«Extreme weather comes at a cost ,» says Martin Young, equity analyst at Investec.
As the heat wave becomes more commonplace, the UK is likely to follow countries like the US and Canada in installing air conditioners at home.
1306 energy-using offices.
According to research done by Opinium for Uswitch, only 3% of UK households currently have built-in air conditioners at home.
However, there is already a significant footprint of energy consumption from the commercial sector, most of which is in offices.
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Slightly more than half of all energy used for cooling in the commercial sector is used to cool offices and other workplaces, according to government analysis. Staying cool is also important for any kind of data processing.
“Until we reach zero emissions, the world will continue to warm up and heatwaves such as the 40.3°C in the UK last year will become more frequent. This will put extra strain on our power grid to try and keep everyone cool,” says Jess Ralston, head of energy and climate intelligence.
Ward says: “We know our monthly heatwaves are getting more intense and frequent. This will become even more of a problem.”
Houses in the UK lose more heat than anywhere else in Europe, and in some cases three times faster, according to a study by thermostat company Tado.
However, poor insulation doesn't just mean they're heavier. To keep houses warm in winter and cool in summer, as the warm air from outside enters and heats them up.As a result, home air conditioning in the UK is likely to have a large energy demand.
Ward says: “Extreme temperatures show how poor the UK building stock is. “This means that in hot weather we will rely more on air conditioning, which means more electricity consumption.”
There is a vicious circle. The UK still gets about half of its electricity from fossil fuels, mostly gas, meaning that air conditioning will release more carbon dioxide. In turn, this will lead to further climate change and increased demand for air conditioning.
UK Electricity
«This is the spiral we're going into,» says Ward. “It will get worse for at least the next three decades because climate change is driving it and it will keep getting warmer until we hit net zero.”
Meanwhile, so are air conditioners , the network in droves, the transition to electric vehicles and heat pumps will further increase the load.
This further adds to the strain on the electricity system, further complicating the balancing of supply and demand and potentially increasing the risk of summer blackouts.
The cost of inaction, however, is high. also high. Lack of air conditioning in workplaces causes economic damage. It is difficult to work in hot offices and this reduces productivity.
In addition, there is a direct risk to public health. Ward says: “Heat kills much faster than cold weather. In the cold, most people who die die because they get a disease like pneumonia. But when it's hot, people just overheat and their body shuts down.»
While coal brings its own woes, it may be the lesser of two evils when it's hot.
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