Emergency power generation

Google for STOR National Grid

STOR sands for short term operating reserve

There's a Grauniad article here

I have a feeling this is a row of them, conveniently near to a substation site

Here's a gas turbine one near me

https://www.google.com/maps/@51.2784863,-1.0653981,3a,57.4y,38.31h,87.06t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sAb4ZYNj_6wUBSyDAzXAT-w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

How long ago was this. I remember the tree day week and rolling power cuts and never remember anyone mentioning these. Where I worked we had our own emergency generators and our own tank of diesel. Smelly things and very noisy. Brian

Those power cuts were due to industrial action, so backup generators wouldn't have helped. I think most were gas turbine, rather than diesel then though. They were often brought in just as Coronation Street was about to end, to cope with the extra load from kettles being switched on as people made a cup of tea.

Urm, Bill's talking about now, not in the past.

They look like mutant daleks ;-)

About 10 years ago, some work was being done on the HV feeds to substations in villages in North Yorkshire. The electricity distribution company brought in huge diesel generators the size of shipping containers to supply whichever village was having its HV supply updated that week. Whenever we went out for a walk anywhere round about, there was a faint but persistent and annoying growl from these generators - the location changed from one week to another.

When it was our village's turn, the genny was just across the road so for a week we had to put up with the throbbing of a diesel engine. I happened to have my window open (facing the genny) when Coronation Street went to a commercial break and I could actually hear the engine note change and the engine work harder as the village suddenly consumed more power when all the kettles went on. It was interesting to hear for myself the effect that I'd only read about. I presume local "emergency" generators like this don't claim to abide by the tight constraints on the 50 Hz mains frequency averaged over 24 hours, so people's electric clocks may have run slightly slow.

The one powering our road whilst work was being carried out ran out of diesel on Sunday morning and wasn't refilled (despite many attempts to call them) until Monday morning. Fortunately I have my own small genny! Mike

They're not that huge. We had one when the local substation serving our bit of the housing estate blew up (mid February)

I had a look at it, only about 200 kVA according to the plate on it. It was serving about 100 homes, so must have been straining.

It certainly conked out a few times, and took a couple of hours for someone from SSE to turn up to restart it.

What a laugh.

Hmm. 200 kVA for 100 homes assumes an average of 2 kVA (2 kW for resistive loads) per house which isn't much: a few electric showers or a fair number of kettles during a commercial break would mean the total load would be getting close to the max.

Yes.

Bill

Useful road (to nowhere) !

In article <tib7ce$2213u$ snipped-for-privacy@dont-email.me, NY snipped-for-privacy@privacy.invalid scribeth thus

Thats what Dinorwig is for that uptake in demand after Corrie!..

See the wind today doesn't want to come out and play, useless system!