I am just waiting, patience is a virtue. We have just switched off our very last coal fired electric generating plant that provided a really decent chunk of the UKs electrical needs. It’s gone, never to return. So, we now rely heavily on wind (c30% and increasing) and solar (4% and increasing) that wonderful natural resource that never ends…..apart from on days when it doesn’t blow and when the sun doesn’t shine! Of course, since we are running at over 85% of generating capacity, if the wind doesn’t blow it won’t be an issue to make up the extra generating capacity required….with???.??
Now what happens if the grid cannot provide the power demand? Well it’s not the case that the lights just dim a bit, the whole network shuts down and needs a restart. The lights go out, and that takes time.
Now granny and grandad who have converted or live in a house with either air or ground source, bought an electric car will fully understand why they are freezing to death and can’t get an emergency vehicle to take them to hospital, as they too are all now electric and can’t drive to hospital with a heart attack or having fallen as their car is also electric. I forgot, they won’t have the winter fuel allowance so they won’t have the heating on anyway!
Done at the sub-station level.
