Regarding the Times article, I'm surprised an interconnector is the largest supplier. Torness and Heysham Bhave twin 660MW generating units so 1.2GW. The interconnectors can easily be run at less than this.
However it is a balancing act and yesterday wind and solar (with no overload capacity) were supplying over half the load so the remaining stations would have been struggling to provide backup if they were running at anything like full load.
The interconnectors were built on the premise that load can flow either way but I have yet to see gridwatch reporting that we were exporting any power. Is the wholesale price in the UK always higher than France, Belgium and The Netherlands?
However, the main thrust of the article is that National Grid were profiteering. Isn't this what they are supposed to do - always pick the cheapest way of supplying the demand with adequate resilience?
Regarding the Times article, I'm surprised an interconnector is the largest supplier. Torness and Heysham Bhave twin 660MW generating units so 1.2GW. The interconnectors can easily be run at less than this.
However it is a balancing act and yesterday wind and solar (with no overload capacity) were supplying over half the load so the remaining stations would have been struggling to provide backup if they were running at anything like full load.
The interconnectors were built on the premise that load can flow either way but I have yet to see gridwatch reporting that we were exporting any power. Is the wholesale price in the UK always higher than France, Belgium and The Netherlands?
However, the main thrust of the article is that National Grid were profiteering. Isn't this what they are supposed to do - always pick the cheapest way of supplying the demand with adequate resilience?
