The UK restarts all coal plants, but it is not enough for energy security
According to a report by Lane consultants, Clark & Peacock , even if the UK has put more coal-fired power plants into operation to get through the winter, it could still face energy shortages.
Even if the UK increases its use of coal, the country could still have 10 hours where the energy supplied is unable to meet the demand. As a result, the grid operator may be forced to cut the power to some energy-intensive consumers.
Gas and electricity prices are expected to be "exceptionally high" this winter in the UK.
Earlier this week, British Prime Minister Liz Truss promised the UK would not ration energy and encourage its citizens to use less energy like other European countries. Truss is still determined to stand up to Russia and endure the resulting high electricity prices.
LCP examined a “pessimistic simulation” that predicted no imports from interconnectors, as French nuclear power outages and Norway's low hydropower levels reduce supply during peak cold days. In this scenario, there could be 29 hours when the demand for energy exceeds supply. This could be reduced to 10 hours if it tapped into winter reserves and integrated with coal-fired power generation.
“The irony of fate is that, as Europe was baking during this summer's heatwave, it was simultaneously sowing the seeds for further suffering this winter. Due to the extreme drought and water shortage that is affecting hydropower systems in key interconnection markets such as Norway, coupled with the problems we are having in France with their nuclear reactors, there are significant doubts about the availability of electricity that it comes to the UK from the mainland, which is critical to our security of supply, ”said Chris Matson, partner at LCP.
Maston added that current market prices for the winter months take into account "much bleaker prospects" and possible gas supply problems across Europe.
"I expect coal to play a crucial role in ensuring energy security this winter," said Matson. However, it will not be enough to ensure energy security.
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The article The United Kingdom restarts all coal-fired plants, but not enough for energy security comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/il-regno-unito-riavvia-tutte-le-centrali-a-carbone-ma-non-basta-per-la-sicurezza-energetica/ on Sun, 25 Sep 2022 07:00:53 +0000.