What a different August it was in 1999- the eclipse was also on a Wednesday, 11th, but no exhortations not to use your washing machine, dishwasher etc. There was no thought back then ( by the ordinary person, at any rate) of voluntary rationing of power ( for now), people just enjoyed the marvel for what it was. The skies darkened, there was a distinct chill and the birds went quiet.
The papers informed that the next best eclipse would be 27 years away. We could hardly have envisaged the 'changes' in the energy system we are enduring in 2026, changes that are impacting power supplies to feed the behemoth project of Net Zero. Fires from solar panels on roofs, EV fires, and plug in solar panels to possibly cause more combustion!
The landscape has changed for ever as the march of wind turbines and the installation of solar panels continues unabated.
This is one of the most ludicrous and pathetic situations for Britain to be in. The real problem is that we have no reliable supply available for high energy users so they have all gone elsewhere. We cannot make steel, fertiliser or other things that require industrial heat. The grid is being constructed to be highly vulnerable by using solar and wind then and this an enormous problem. That notwithstanding the negative environmental consequences that such technologies bring with them.
Alan in the comments says it's sensible to defer the washing, and fair enough as far as it goes. But he rather skips past your actual point, which wasn't the eclipse at all. It was what's being trialled under cover of it.
"third parties to manage household heat pumps, car chargers and batteries remotely" does this mean what I think it means? Someone - who? - can turn of your heating etc. remotely in times of high demand (i.e. in a cold winter) without consulting you?
That is why I will refuse to have a "smart meter" until they force me to. And I will never buy any equipment that is connected to the Internet. (Other than my computers).
Good afternoon, Ms Householder. 1 kW for a couple of hours to do your wash? Sorry, no can do.
Good afternoon, Mr Data Centre. 20 MW all day and all night, 24 x 365, to give random people dubious answers to frivolous questions? No problem, squire - fill your boots.
First contact isnt till after 1800 by which time solar has dropped off substantially so whats all the palaver about unless there using the event to mask and underlying issue.
Excellent article, thank you. At least I have a well and a wood burning stove, plus plenty of trees about of which some are dead, some dying, and many approaching old age. Going off grid for energy is not really a problem; there will be physical well-being in doing the chores to utilise such bounty.
On food, I have a meadow that, reluctantly, I would cultivate. Not sure if horse-power availability would be present but at least I have a wife to pull the home-made plough. Trouble is we are both over 70, so practicalities may be a hurdle.
Oh for a brave new world run by adults, and the current crop of children in power put to bed.
It is very sunny today so solar will have a very high output in UK and Europe. A great deal of cooling load will be hidden by embedded generation. In the evenings solar falls off rapidly and there is a huge ramp up of alternative sources
Today is slightly different. Some solar will switch off in an instant revealing the hidden load as a spike, something network operators hate
In the same way we are asked to conserve water in time of shortage it has been suggested that we don’t use washing machines and dishwashers around the time of the eclipse so reducing the total load GB will be required to provided at the time when the eclipse spikes hit the network.
It seems sensible to me. Why run a scarce and expensive resource to do someone’s washing or washing up which could easily be deferred and done a a cheaper and less critical time
Why imply criticism of NESO for making this sensible request by linking it to demand side management which has both pros and cons.
Your comment about expensive electricity is a different point to the thrust of my comment which was to mitigate the impact of the almost instantaneous loss of solar power during the evening ramp up
However it’s a good point to discuss
Peaking plant has always been able to command higher charges than plant use for mainstream supply. It’s how the UK and other systems work
25 years ago I worked for a generation company that trialled using its gas plant for high revenue peak power at the expense of more frequent maintenance. I recall that the engineers didn’t like it but it was profitable
What has happened is that the numbers of despatch-able plant have fallen to low level that are now a concern.
There are concerns outside of DESNZ and NESO, which I share, that the UK has insufficient despatchable plant to reliably run days on end during a long winter dunkelflaute
But why is it a scarce and expensive resource? Only because huge amounts of ingenuity, casuistry, and downright lying - as well as taxpayer money - have gone to make it so.
Incidentally, the limited supply of water in England is one of the best reasons for keeping the population within sensible limits. That would be about 15 million or so for England. And no, it shouldn't be attempted suddenly. The first step would obviously be to stop it increasing; then there are various ways of encouraging it down.
Drought is nature's way of telling us that there are too many of us living in the wrong places.
What a different August it was in 1999- the eclipse was also on a Wednesday, 11th, but no exhortations not to use your washing machine, dishwasher etc. There was no thought back then ( by the ordinary person, at any rate) of voluntary rationing of power ( for now), people just enjoyed the marvel for what it was. The skies darkened, there was a distinct chill and the birds went quiet.
The papers informed that the next best eclipse would be 27 years away. We could hardly have envisaged the 'changes' in the energy system we are enduring in 2026, changes that are impacting power supplies to feed the behemoth project of Net Zero. Fires from solar panels on roofs, EV fires, and plug in solar panels to possibly cause more combustion!
The landscape has changed for ever as the march of wind turbines and the installation of solar panels continues unabated.
This is one of the most ludicrous and pathetic situations for Britain to be in. The real problem is that we have no reliable supply available for high energy users so they have all gone elsewhere. We cannot make steel, fertiliser or other things that require industrial heat. The grid is being constructed to be highly vulnerable by using solar and wind then and this an enormous problem. That notwithstanding the negative environmental consequences that such technologies bring with them.
This is correct. We are reverting to premodern living arrangements.
Alan in the comments says it's sensible to defer the washing, and fair enough as far as it goes. But he rather skips past your actual point, which wasn't the eclipse at all. It was what's being trialled under cover of it.
"third parties to manage household heat pumps, car chargers and batteries remotely" does this mean what I think it means? Someone - who? - can turn of your heating etc. remotely in times of high demand (i.e. in a cold winter) without consulting you?
That is the infrastructural capability that is being enabled
Yes.
That is why I will refuse to have a "smart meter" until they force me to. And I will never buy any equipment that is connected to the Internet. (Other than my computers).
That's exactly what I thought too
Good afternoon, Ms Householder. 1 kW for a couple of hours to do your wash? Sorry, no can do.
Good afternoon, Mr Data Centre. 20 MW all day and all night, 24 x 365, to give random people dubious answers to frivolous questions? No problem, squire - fill your boots.
NESO have just announced that they have found enough power Presumably be hind the sofa. I’m disappointed because I was going to turn everything on.
First contact isnt till after 1800 by which time solar has dropped off substantially so whats all the palaver about unless there using the event to mask and underlying issue.
Excellent article, thank you. At least I have a well and a wood burning stove, plus plenty of trees about of which some are dead, some dying, and many approaching old age. Going off grid for energy is not really a problem; there will be physical well-being in doing the chores to utilise such bounty.
On food, I have a meadow that, reluctantly, I would cultivate. Not sure if horse-power availability would be present but at least I have a wife to pull the home-made plough. Trouble is we are both over 70, so practicalities may be a hurdle.
Oh for a brave new world run by adults, and the current crop of children in power put to bed.
It is very sunny today so solar will have a very high output in UK and Europe. A great deal of cooling load will be hidden by embedded generation. In the evenings solar falls off rapidly and there is a huge ramp up of alternative sources
Today is slightly different. Some solar will switch off in an instant revealing the hidden load as a spike, something network operators hate
In the same way we are asked to conserve water in time of shortage it has been suggested that we don’t use washing machines and dishwashers around the time of the eclipse so reducing the total load GB will be required to provided at the time when the eclipse spikes hit the network.
It seems sensible to me. Why run a scarce and expensive resource to do someone’s washing or washing up which could easily be deferred and done a a cheaper and less critical time
Why imply criticism of NESO for making this sensible request by linking it to demand side management which has both pros and cons.
Thank you Alan. Electricity didn’t used to be scarce and expensive. What changed?
Governments. They ceased altogether to have the slightest interest in the welfare of citizens.
Your comment about expensive electricity is a different point to the thrust of my comment which was to mitigate the impact of the almost instantaneous loss of solar power during the evening ramp up
However it’s a good point to discuss
Peaking plant has always been able to command higher charges than plant use for mainstream supply. It’s how the UK and other systems work
25 years ago I worked for a generation company that trialled using its gas plant for high revenue peak power at the expense of more frequent maintenance. I recall that the engineers didn’t like it but it was profitable
What has happened is that the numbers of despatch-able plant have fallen to low level that are now a concern.
There are concerns outside of DESNZ and NESO, which I share, that the UK has insufficient despatchable plant to reliably run days on end during a long winter dunkelflaute
But why is it a scarce and expensive resource? Only because huge amounts of ingenuity, casuistry, and downright lying - as well as taxpayer money - have gone to make it so.
Incidentally, the limited supply of water in England is one of the best reasons for keeping the population within sensible limits. That would be about 15 million or so for England. And no, it shouldn't be attempted suddenly. The first step would obviously be to stop it increasing; then there are various ways of encouraging it down.
Drought is nature's way of telling us that there are too many of us living in the wrong places.
A sensible request? Do elaborate