[clarionbell]

This hardly matters unless electricity prices for end consumers go down. And that can hardly happen without improved transmission lines and storage. And those are consistently being blocked by NIMBYs.

This is not a matter of policy, but of physics. Producers are far from consumers, in both time and space. Wind turbines are dispersed and far from cities, wind doesn't blow when there is high demand. And yet, these sources are being plugged into a grid that was built over decades under completely different assumptions.

No wonder the energy prices are high.

Edit:

Since some people don't believe that this matters, I'm attaching some basic sources about current state of UK power grid and necessary upgrades.

https://electricalreview.co.uk/2024/09/20/survey-grid-connec...

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp84yymxpjno

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68601354

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ofgem-approves-37-bi...

Even in the linked article:

>The 8.4GW secured at this latest auction just about keeps the offshore wind target in reach, several analysts have told the BBC. But all those projects will still need connecting to the grid to generate electricity.

>"Getting that amount of capacity online by 2030 [will be] extremely challenging," said Nick Civetta, project leader at the Aurora Energy Research think tank.

[youngtaff]

All of the winners in the current auction have grid connection slots it's part of the prerequisites for the process

We were always going to have to build out infrastructure as we decarbonise just as we'd have to build infrastructure if we remain on fossil fuel

Plus we get cleaner air and less health issues caused by pollution

[silvestrov]

This is such a nonsense comment.

> Producers are far from consumers

Distance from London to the biggest windfarms are 350 km [1]

This is the same distance as from Miami to Orlando (in Florida). Do you really think it is a problem transmitting electricity this distance.

You should try look at the international connections in Europe. Some are longer than this.

The Viking link between UK and Denmark is 765 km.

1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_offshore_wind_farms_in...

[clarionbell]

That doesn't address the problem at all. Viking is connecting two grids together. This can help stabilize them in some scenarios. But much like in any other network, even if you have enough capacity almost everywhere, it doesn't matter, if you have a bottleneck on the path.

Existing grid has been built up with several high density sources, often very close to urban and industrial areas. Wind farms are, by their nature, neither of those.

There is enough material online about this issue. I'll gladly direct you to it.

https://electricalreview.co.uk/2024/09/20/survey-grid-connec...

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp84yymxpjno

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-68601354

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ofgem-approves-37-bi...

As you can see, this isn't a new concern, and it isn't something I made up. Then something about delays:

https://www.thetimes.com/static/green-energy-net-zero-nation...