OT: 2015 UK electricity generation

[newshound]

Quite a comprehensive summary:

Also, an interesting program on R4 the other day proposing a 1000 MW interconnector from Iceland. Apparently, most years they have surplus hydro generation. The local proponents were suggesting it would be a good thing to expand electricity generation (both thermal and hydro) to improve job prospects for their young people.

[Chris Hogg]

More detail on changing coal use and declining CO2 emissions in the UK here

Comment by Euan Mearns on the UK-Iceland project here

If built, at 1000km it will be the longest interconnector in the world (cue Gracie Fields?). The UK-Norway interconnector will be about 3/4 of that length.

[newshound]

The first graph is quite interesting, a pretty linear decline from the date of the Clean Air acts.

The 690 MW increase in hydro capacity and generation in 2008 associated with their Aluminium plant is interesting. I wonder if this is what killed Anglesey Aluminium (255 MW), which closed in 2009.

I've been indoctrinated with CEGB-think since the 1960s, so this new, interconnected world all feels a bit strange to me. It is an interesting concept, though, already practiced between Norway and its southern neighbours, that they can import surplus wind energy to save water in their reservoirs, and then export it when the wind isn't blowing further south. I tend to think of pumped storage like Dinorwic as the only real big battery for electricity, but in fact with sufficient interconnection to big hydro systems you don't necessarily need to pump.

[Chris Hogg]

An interesting presentation on Norwegian hydro and it's potential here

They have no man-made pumped storage ATM, simply because a) they don't need it and b) nature raises the water from the lower reservoir (the sea) to the upper reservoir (the mountains), in the form of rain and snow. But in really dry summers the reservoirs can run low, which is why it's worth their while conserving water when they can by buying cheap surplus wind energy from Denmark, when available, simply for their own domestic consumers. They then sell power back to Denmark at other times when the wind doesn't blow, making a nice profit in the process.

The problems with interconnects are that you only get electricity from them when the country at the other end has it to spare and is prepared to sell it to you, and they're vulnerable to failure either by natural causes or sabotage. I bet Russia knows exactly where all our interconnects lie. Also, they're currently limited to about 1 GW capacity each. We'd need about 40 of them to keep us going on cold winter's evenings when there's no wind, if we only had renewable sources of power in the UK. And that assumes out neighbours will have

40GW of surplus power.

[Tim Watts]

Change of angle:

What is the state of Oldbury and Wylfa projects (Horizon Nuclear Power / Hitachi-General Electric)?

Hearing a lot about Hinkley C, but not much about those two which should be coming online in the early 20's.

I see a lot of old press releases, the old mumble about financing, but other than that, it's a bit quiet.

[Andrew]

It would make more sense to put all the power-hungry businesses in Iceland itself. Aluminium smelting for starters, and many of the worlds datacentres could be located there.