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  • =?UTF-8?Q?Re:=20January=E2=80=99s=20Dunkelflaute?=

    From Spike@21:1/5 to diverse@tcp.co.uk on Sat Feb 1 11:52:58 2025
    N_Cook <diverse@tcp.co.uk> wrote:
    On 01/02/2025 09:57, Spike wrote:

    From (the real) Gridwatch, it appears that Gas outperformed Wind for a
    15-day period, from the 8th to the 22nd inclusive.

    Judging by eye, the difference was an average of 11GW, for a total of 4TWh. >>
    In December there were four short periods where Gas had to step in again,
    for an estimated 2TWh.

    And in November there was another series of days, totalling 18, where Gas
    was the main provider, for some 4TWh of Wind shortfall.

    Since there was insufficient surplus energy available to recharge any
    battery farms that could have supplied these shortfalls, it would seem that >> battery storage is a non-starter as backup to Wind.

    Rachel Reeves was on the radio this week extolling the virtues of Hydrogen.

    Was there surplus interconnector lecky available from abroad but the
    price was wrong compared to gas generation?

    I don’t collect data on other sources of energy input, but my impression is that the interconnectors were melting with all the energy we were
    importing,

    There is next to no "green" hydrogen in the uk and more generally it
    cannot be distributed via the existing gas grid pipeline as hydrogen is
    too small and would leak through those pipes.

    I get the impression that Rachel Reeves doesn’t know much about hydrogen…or electricity…or gas…or solar…or the interconnectors…

    --
    Spike

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  • From Spike@21:1/5 to junk@admac.myzen.co.uk on Sat Feb 1 14:59:44 2025
    alan_m <junk@admac.myzen.co.uk> wrote:
    On 01/02/2025 09:57, Spike wrote:

    From (the real) Gridwatch, it appears that Gas outperformed Wind for a
    15-day period, from the 8th to the 22nd inclusive.

    Judging by eye, the difference was an average of 11GW, for a total of 4TWh. >>
    In December there were four short periods where Gas had to step in again,
    for an estimated 2TWh.

    And in November there was another series of days, totalling 18, where Gas
    was the main provider, for some 4TWh of Wind shortfall.

    Since there was insufficient surplus energy available to recharge any
    battery farms that could have supplied these shortfalls, it would seem that >> battery storage is a non-starter as backup to Wind.

    Rachel Reeves was on the radio this week extolling the virtues of Hydrogen.

    I took the gamble of going for the Octopus tracker tariff (October
    version and my region seems to be more expensive than most). For the
    whole of November I paid around the same as the capped rate for both gas
    and electriity. December and January I paid significantly more than
    their fixed rate, at rate lower than the capped rate. There were only a
    few days when the price fell below the fixed rate by more than 10p/unit
    for electricity. I can confirm that the prices were high(er) during the multiple Dunkelflaute events when demand was also high.

    I’ve been on an Octopus fixed deal for some months, and out of curiosity recently looked up the current prices for their Variable tariff.

    I’m very glad I fixed when I did!

    --
    Spike

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