BBC overlooks lack of wind: ‘Drought highlights dangers for electricity supplies’

Hornsea wind project

At least they admit solar panels don’t like too much sun: ‘work much less well in high temperatures’. But high pressure systems often mean very low wind speeds.
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The ongoing drought in the UK and Europe is putting electricity generation under pressure, say experts.

Electricity from hydropower – which uses water to generate power – has dropped by 20% overall, says BBC News.

And nuclear facilities, which are cooled using river water, have been restricted.

There are fears that the shortfalls are a taste of what will happen in the coming winter.

In the UK, high temperatures are hitting energy output from fossil, nuclear and solar sources.

That is because the technology in power plants and solar panels work much less well in high temperatures.

The prolonged dry spell is putting further pressure on energy supplies as Europe scrambles for alternative sources after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Hydropower is an important source of energy for Europe, but the lack of water in rivers and reservoirs is now significantly reducing the ability of facilities to produce electricity.

Italy gets around 1/5 of its power from hydro, but that’s fallen by around 40% in the past 12 months.
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Countries, including the UK and France, rely on each other’s electricity markets.

“If both French and UK systems are in stress at the same time, then nobody really knows what will happen”.

Full article here.
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