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aries1980 | 5 years ago

There were couple of days recently when almost zero energy was generated by wind: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/blackouts-fear-forces-pow... (an excerpt without being paywalled: https://www.thegwpf.com/britain-faces-green-energy-disaster-...)

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qayxc|5 years ago

The excerpt speaks for the "quality" of this kind of journalism: headline says

> "Britain faces green energy disaster as lack of wind triggers new blackout warning"

Actual quote says:

> National Grid said the margin notice “highlights that we would like a greater safety cushion between power demand and available supply” but “does not signal that blackouts are imminent”.

In short: yes, regenerative or "green" energy requires a different approach, including overprovisioning, short term storage, and stand-by power stations (e.g. natural gas-powered ones) in order to work reliably.

That's not news, however, that's a well known fact. Plus both wind and solar can be predicted fairly well over the short term and a more intelligent grid could be used to adjust demand accordingly to also help with this.

It's an issue, sure, but not a show-stopper.

aries1980|5 years ago

> The excerpt speaks for the "quality" of this kind of journalism: headline says

I agree, just I couldn't find a better link to the National Grid announcement.

aries1980|5 years ago

Posting a link from a 240-year-old Western medium that was downvoted to -3 from the default 1 was the last time I wasted my time on commenting a HN post.