wind curtailment

[Mr Gus]

Grr! ..prime example of my buggered brain I saw that thread, just don't remember it day to day.
Can you pin it so it is a visible utility Nowty? (please & thank you)

[nowty]

And an eye watering near £2 billion to date in 2023 and we are only half way through.

Another beauty stat from that site,
https://wind-curtailment-app-ahq7fucdyq-lz.a.run.app/

[Krill]

IOW why can't the turbines in the coal (and other FF) plants be used for balancing sans firing the boilers? Does it boil down to wiring issues? It boggles my mind that minimising curtailment of wind isn't in the top three priorities of the national energy strategy (not that we have one of thosw).

[Joeboy]

IOW why can't the turbines in the coal (and other FF) plants be used for balancing sans firing the boilers? Does it boil down to wiring issues? It boggles my mind that minimising curtailment of wind isn't in the top three priorities of the national energy strategy (not that we have one of thosw).

I find it nauseating to see the volumes of power that are being wasted due to infrastructure issues. Its too easy to allow the mind to run down the track of blaming NIMBYism alone (I do this). That is an easy and detestable low fruit which certainly plays a part. Politics, vested interests & influence play a far larger role.

As does outright greed and the lifespan political or biological of the those who have the decision making control at this point in time. Not to say we are in a new area of human stupidity. Humans are myopic and quite poor at looking beyond the immediate horizon in the majority.

I am happy that I am slightly in the minority although it comes with its own negatives (awareness).

I wonder how far we could have made it if the money for that ridiculous high speed rail link and nuclear plant had been directed to improving the power network capacity, generation and strategic industrial scale storage across the whole island?

I use my vote at the correct time, help anyone out who asks and try to live well in as non polluting a fashion as I can (apart from the flights)

Nonetheless, when I think on this stuff..

[Krill]

IOW why can't the turbines in the coal (and other FF) plants be used for balancing sans firing the boilers? Does it boil down to wiring issues? It boggles my mind that minimising curtailment of wind isn't in the top three priorities of the national energy strategy (not that we have one of thosw).

I wonder how far we could have made it if the money for that ridiculous high speed rail link and nuclear plant had been directed to improving the power network capacity, generation and strategic industrial scale storage across the whole island?

I never thought of it that way, and yeah, that is nauseating HS2, destroying the UK economy in every which way imaginable.

[Mr Gus]

yeah that saving of up to 15 miutes off a london to manchester "ditect, no stops service" is really necessary

if I wanted to use it i'd have to take slow trains to london negating any time savings & wiping put stupid amounts of cash for the privelige.

When I used to go from London to York in the same manner with workmates for training days we never managed to get seats on either leg as was, so i always made sure to placate them with a crate of beer brought for each leg.

[AE-NMidlands]

yeah that saving of up to 15 miutes off a london to manchester "ditect, no stops service" is really necessary

if I wanted to use it i'd have to take slow trains to london negating any time savings & wiping put stupid amounts of cash for the privelige.

This is an unfortunate misconception, due mainly to the initial stupid publicity which was trying to do more and claim more credit than was needed.

When the WCML was upgraded by Railtrack about 20 years ago they made a complete Horrocks of it, ignoring the knowledge that they used to have in house before those people were all sacked. They went miles over-budget, bought signalling kit that was incompatible with everything around it (which is why there are still big manual signal boxes at Stockport,) closed some important lines completely for over 6 months and left half the project un-done.
The new 140 mph trains which came in could only run at 125 mph, and partly due to that there was serious capacity loss especially at the south end, such that there is almost no inter-regional service now: If you want to get from the Midlands or N to somewhere 20 to 40 miles out you have to go to Euston and come back out again on a stopper.

Having learnt from that "upgrade" debacle, and aware that there is still significant untapped demand (think Milton Keynes to Stafford, or Rugby to Warrington) they need more lines, just 2 new fast lines will do it, but we have learnt what happens if you try to shoehorn it in and interfere with what is currently working, so a new alignment to take the trains which don't need to call south of Brum makes sense. However they went OTT and to get approval they promised ridiculously unnecessary speed, which put up the civil engineering costs because of the constraints on alignment and the actual track which that brings. They also structured it financially to make as much money as possible for the financiers, consultants and contractors so that the contractors bore all the risk if it did not work as hoped, so there is massive contingency built in, also huge insurance amounts just in case...
They also gold-plated things to sell it, such that 10 years after they started planning the Euston site is now on hold while they redesign it yet again looking for savings - which when they finally do it will have evaporated with inflation and higher costs from the logistics of building it last!

I do think that it needs doing, and when it is completed (albeit at a ridiculous price) we will be aware that it should have been done a decade earlier. Unfortunately political dogma ("the private sector and many layers of consultants and contractors must be able to do it best!") has left us with a structure designed to suck money out at every turn.
It is unlike HPC in that it really is needed, HPC and Sizewell are even more expensive but I suspect will have to be abandoned or built into their own defensive islands (wells, or polders) because of rising sea levels. I don't think nuclear power is ethical either because of all the waste issues it leaves for future generations.

[Mr Gus]

Anyone else looking forward to sucking up the costs for those nuclear plant flood defences, ..have they started cost & duration estimations as to each project yet?

Try sliding that one past the public to protect the guaranteed profits of the investors

[AE-NMidlands]

Anyone else looking forward to sucking up the costs for those nuclear plant flood defences, ..have they started cost & duration estimations as to each project yet?

Try sliding that one past the public to protect the guaranteed profits of the investors

it will just be added to the daily standing charge!

[Mr Gus]

Anyone else looking forward to sucking up the costs for those nuclear plant flood defences, ..have they started cost & duration estimations as to each project yet?

Try sliding that one past the public to protect the guaranteed profits of the investors

it will just be added to the daily standing charge!

Aww fffff (etc) ..you are so right, yet the rising sea concerns are poo-poohed for the latest build, so I'd like to see the contractual agreement there.
(pooh-poohed because the build is going ahead & "judicious planning" as to siting & risk over the units lifetime & removal ..unless by removal they mean the action of the waves ..doubtless spun as "cost savings" by then.

But getting back to it, batteries, solar, shading, why not? (the exposed australian tesla giga-batteries being a case in point)