This interview, is a broad and detailed overview of the technical realities of relying on renewables.
Watch it here on YouTube: https://youtu.be/MPydWl5Djxs
Independent energy consultant Kathryn Porter describes how Britain is at severe risk of blackouts.
She explains how the move to more and more renewables is behind this risk, as they are unstable and not as compatible with our grid as are the traditional power sources.
She also explains why renewable energy is the most expensive, and that the government’s Clean Power 2030 plans will put even more financial pressure on the public.
General points
- UK has spent £220billion on decarbonisation since 2006 and seen zero financial benefit.
- renewables are incompatible with our existing electricity grid
- why do people care about climate change? Because they think it will have harmful effects on people’s lives and livelihoods. But if the policies enacted have harmful effects on people, is it any better? Are we cognisant of these choices that are being made?
- we should be careful if choices are driven by ideology, not the by weighing up the costs and benefits of policy.
Blackouts
- Iberian blackout (May 2025)- entire Iberian peninsula without power. Loss of life 7 people. A fault led to cascading blackout.
- Spain/Portugal system has low inertia – wind and solar deliver electricity as DC that has to be converted to AC electronically. Not how grid was designed. Conventional turbines – spinning machines, inertia, a brake on changes/faults. Iberian fault did not spread long in France because they have conventional turbines.
- UK near miss in January 2025. Not a fault but we just ran out of generating capacity. Didn’t have enough electricity in production.
- Likelihood of future blackouts?
- UK authorities auditing how they forecast demand.
- Biomass plants subsidised for longer.
- Old nuclear reactors having their lives extended
- However, our gas turbines are very old and nearing end of life. This is not being considered.
- Interconnectors – supply from other nations. We can’t rely on them.
- Risks
- Portugal deaths during the blackout: house fire related to candles; ventilators for use at home failed; generator giving off CO (3 deaths)
- Lack of light. Trapped in lifts. Stuck in trains/underground. Anyone with medical vulnerability on a cold day, stuck in lift for 12 hours…
- In the 1970s – rolling blackouts and we survived. But then didn’t have people living on ventilators at home. Planned for them too. Unplanned – don’t see them coming and test your generators.
Electricity Supply in the UK
In the UK, the National Energy System Operator have to make sure supply meets demand.
- Statutory duty:
- hold enough reserve to cover the single biggest infeed to electricity grid.
- ensure system frequency remains +/- 1% of 50Hz
- Iberia – fault occurred causing disturbance to grid frequency. All sorts of protection systems activated and equipment disconnected themselves from grid. If you lose generators then frequency falls and next generators do the same and you get a cascading effect.
- To achieve these objectives – procures services from the market
- batteries – immediate availability
- pumped hydro – Dinorwig 1.8GW across 6 turbines in 16 seconds. Can produce for 5 hours.
- Combined cycle gas turbine goes from cold to full load in 30 mins.
- Auctions every year for suppliers to bid to supply this. Concerns about planning for future production of all the things needed.
- We have closed viable power stations that could have stayed open.
- Poor policy decision.
- We only produce less than 1% of global CO2. These power stations are not going to move the dial on global CO2.
- But they could make the difference between blackout or not.
- Cost far out-weighs benefit.
Clean Power 2030
A plan for electricity to be 95% zero carbon by 2030. Only running gas for 5% of the year.
- need a huge amount of renewable capacity by then
- [ work in progress, I might add more detail later….]