Wind Finally Supplying, but Where's Solar?

 

Graph Courtesy of Gridwatch

Finally, after the cold spell, the high-pressure system has moved on, the temperatures have risen, energy demand has reduced, the Wind has picked up and is now able to provide a decent percentage of our electricity.

However, last week was a significant pointer to how renewables don't work just when you need them.

I mean, look at solar energy production on the graph above. It's there, it's the yellow band. Can't see it? It's actually so infinitesimal it looks like a monitor artifact. It's actually just above the turquoise of wind between 10am and 4pm. 

Finally, gas-powered energy is able to back off. Nuclear is doing what it does best: provide baseload. 

The interesting thing is that the European interconnectors are supplying power into the UK. Is that because the UK is a more lucrative market? Can they sell their surplus electricity to us for a bigger profit because we can't produce cheap energy ourselves? Interesting that the Germans with their coal-fired electricity and the French with their nuclear-produced electricity have enough spare to send to Blighty and make a profit. 

Our domestic energy supply policy is so fucked up you could probably see how fucked up it is from Space. 

Revel in the wind-powered electricity until the next windless cold snap comes along. God help us if it lasts for more than a week, as current sane climate predictions say is the future climate model. 

When we get a cold, windless period for more than a week across Europe, just what happens then? If it last for a month or two? Energy companies have been able to get away with cutting back production assets in the name of climate change to boost profits and our insane Government policy has just abetted the destruction of a sensible mixed energy production network.

The shit will hit the wind turbine in the next 5 years or sooner, believe me.