Freezing temperatures mean energy demands have soared in recent days, but low winds mean output at wind farms has plunged, according to data from National Gas and National Grid, making the UK reliant on gas for up to two-thirds of its electricity this weekend. However, Jon Butterworth, chief executive of National Gas, said demand from gas-fired power stations would be “maxed out” from today through much of the weekend.
He said the weather event should be a reminder of the importance of fossil fuels as to global policymakers attend the COP28 climate summit in Dubai.
Mr Butterworth said: “It’s really important they recognise that although we’ve got to decarbonize, energy security is also vital. And when you’re in a world of interruptible renewable energy, our security is massively important. The more we build up our reliance on wind and solar power, which can be disrupted by the weather, the worse the risk becomes.”
A combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant uses the exhaust heat from gas turbines to generate steam with a heat recovery steam generator (HRSG). The produced steam is then fed to a steam turbine to provide additional power, either running a generator or as a mechanical drive. The overall efficiency of an offshore CCGT is approximately 50%. An onshore CCGT has increased efficiency due to additional pressure levels and reheat circuits, and it has an overall efficiency of approximately 60%.
I had never really given it a thought; but it would never have occurred to me that trains might be impacted by snowfall. That service would actually be cancelled. I can see some impacts in the far west, the Rockies maybe.
There are train cars with a rotary machine at the front that clears the snow off the tracks. There are also more traditional wedge-shaped snow plow devices for trains.
I have seen videos of those machines and am rightly impressed. Hence my thoughts re: cancelling train routes due to snow. I guess ice might be a more serious thing. But I hadn’t really put much thought in to the concept.
When trains pass over leaves, the heat and weight of the trains bake them into a thin, slippery layer on the rail. This is equivalent to black ice on the roads. Slippery rails make it hard for trains to accelerate and brake effectively…
A build-up of leaves on the tracks can also cause delays by forming a barrier between the train wheels and the electrical parts of the track that help us to pin-point where trains are. When we aren’t sure exactly where a train is, the trains behind will be delayed at red signals until the first train’s location is established
The UK forked out £3.5bn on electricity from France, Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands last year, accounting for 12% of net supply, according to research from London Stock Exchange (LSEG) Power Research…
Electricity imports were brought to the UK via the growing network of interconnector cables designed to boost the collective resilience and energy security of neighbouring countries.
But closures of British power stations means the traffic is increasingly one-way with the UK instead becoming dependent on its neighbours.
