UK power ... sources and costs

[rb1957]

does anyone have data on UK power costs and sources ?

I understand they've bet heavily on wind power ... how's that working for them ?
Are they importing electricity ? (are they connected to mainland Europe ?)
I've heard that the cost is "extreme" ?

"Hoffen wir mal, dass alles gut geht !"
General Paulus, Nov 1942, outside Stalingrad after the launch of Operation Uranus.

 

[SuperSalad]

From the wiki page: Energy in the UK it seems like a mixed bag.

Wind seems to be doing alright, though not enough to eliminate the need for imports, FF sources. It claims as of 2017 that offshore wind is cheaper than new nuclear:

In June 2017, renewables plus nuclear generated more UK power than gas and coal together for the first time and new offshore wind power became cheaper than new nuclear power for the first time.

Wind power delivers a growing fraction of the energy in the United Kingdom and at the beginning of November 2018, wind power in the United Kingdom consisted of nearly 10,000 wind turbines with a total installed capacity of just over 20 gigawatts: 12,254 MW of onshore capacity and 7,897 MW of offshore capacity.[39]

In August and September 2021, the UK had to restart coal plants, amidst a lack of wind, as power imports from Europe were insufficient to satisfy demand.

Seems they currently import but not sufficient data for some years now to say the exact amount.

As recently as 2004, the UK was a net exporter of energy, however by 2010, more than 25% of UK energy was imported.

As for costs I don't know if I would call the trend extreme during the period renewables have been increasing. It looks like a roughly 25% increase over 10 years prior to the 2022 craziness we are experiencing.

- Andrew

 

[dik]

a link:

https://www.energy-uk.org.uk/publication.html?task=file.download&id=7993

So strange to see the singularity approaching while the entire planet is rapidly turning into a hellscape. -John Coates

-Dik

 

[Pud]

UK real time:

https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk

Shows interconnectors.

One nuke shut down this week.

Typical energy costs (mine!):

Electricity = 27.09p/kWh, with a standing charge of 48.65/day
Gas = 7.22p/kWh, standing charge of 27.22p/day


Politicians like to panic, they need activity. It is their substitute for achievement.