Energy imports poised to hit record after power stations mothballed
By Paul Homewood
h/t Philip Bratby
Britain is poised to import a record amount of energy from France and other European countries this summer after mothballing a host of power stations.
The French state-owned operator EDF will sell much of the surplus power from its nuclear plants to the UK in the coming months after taking advantage of new undersea cables and a lack of domestic capacity, according to a new report from National Gas.
It said that the demand for gas in the UK was predicted to fall from 33.3 billion cubic metres (bcm) between April and September last year to 29bcm this year – a 10pc decline – because foreign energy is filling the gap instead of gas-fired plants in the UK.
Meanwhile, electricity imports are predicted to jump by 6.6 terawatt hours, potentially reaching a new summer record.
National Gas said: “This increase in electricity imports is being driven by increased availability of French nuclear generation along with an overall increase in capacity of interconnectors.”
Interconnectors are high voltage cables that link the electricity systems of neighbouring countries, allowing power to be traded across borders.
Britain now has three interconnectors to France, plus others to Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Another, the Viking Link interconnector from the UK to Denmark, went into operation in December, sharply increasing the UK’s capacity for importing and exporting electricity.
However, the flow is mostly one way, into the UK, meaning an increasing proportion of British consumers’ power bills is flowing out of the UK to utilities overseas.
The UK spent £3.5bn on electricity from France, Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands last year, accounting for 12pc of net supply, according to earlier research from London Stock Exchange Power Research.
This week import levels have risen to 14-15pc of UK electricity – including 8.3pc from France and nearly 4pc from Norway, according to National Grid data.
A key bonus of the shift to overseas power is a cut in greenhouse gas emissions.
It takes a special kind of idiot to justify our throwing away of energy security by claiming that at least it cuts emissions!
I’ll leave it to the real experts:
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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT 
If currently you are using 100% of the Energy you produce and this only provides 85% of your requirement, you have a shortfall that can only be covered by two simple options:- a) reduce demand thru rolling blackouts and increasing the price to force down demand, or, b) import sufficient to maintain the demand.
It is interesting to note that none of the political parties has a plan to deal with the very real possibility that imported power backup from Europe suddenly becomes reduced to zero, they all insist that our commercial relationships cover continuation of supply, but this clearly shows a reluctance to admit that the only option that is guaranteed is to reduce demand if and when continuing energy support ceases.
We only have ourselves to blame for this situation, yes, Solar, Wind, Hydro, Nuclear are playing their part, but the gamble is on Solar and Wind to provide 100%, which is impossible due to the sheer number of panels and turbines, there is not enough land to both stick panels and turbines, farm, grow trees and…….oh crumbs, I almost forgot, house and employ 70,000,000 people. We are hoping that intermittent energy sources will save the day, I expect that Millbands millions of “Green Energy” jobs will actual turn out to be millions of people chained to wind turbine treadmills walking to turn the blades to generate the power as and when there is insufficient wind.
The Madmen have left the asylum and are now running the Country.
Is Britain competing with California to make rolling blackouts a household name?
I think i’ll install 2 more woodburners. My wood burnt in My fires, and as long as I get moving and cut it up -reliable. Unlike the national Grid.
Not if you live in Scotland you won’t
Avoch aye munn! - the Hi-land factor …. no bother at all! Been through all that nonsense since a while, just can NOT understand why Hielanders ever vote SNP / Greens. Grampian Conservation area as per many Landward TV Progs bla bla blah .. Planting trees as renewables. but they chuck out Pellet stoves, English Stove “Manufacturers “ don’t want to sell them any more either, SO OIL ( Kero) is being used to replace them. Grrrrreat eh? and I have trees galore growing as weeds ( Birch & Conifer) so we harvest them as required . Willow coppicing was trialled around 35 years ago…. whatever happened to them ? Well a mound of Damp woodchip has to be DRIED …. Highland air is damp .. say no more. Make compost waste of time. ” Great Ideas” coming from the Ivory Towers of Politademia “
Now got a generator that works off a PTO on my ancient MF tractor. get the tractor to idle away and i have all the electric the farm needs. i love diesel.
Your solution has a “Heath Robinson” (or Rube Goldberg) character that is commendable. I suspect St. Greta will not be pleased. 🙂
Reminder of visiting my ex-wife’s farming relatives in South Africa many years ago and the reassuring sound of the Lister generator plugging away as night fell.
Too big man, too BIG, (which ever MF you have. – I bet!) Daylight come an da enjun’s broak, Hey Missa Ferguson fixa my genrata, need da powr but ma enjuns broak !
For your Info, we have a MOSA Welder Generator with Multi-voltage and idles on no load. Aircooled8kVA so is more economical, If you can get an Inverter type Generator – that is ideal and couple up a heatpump to use the waste heat more “efficiently” …. think about it! Think I’ll be taking up shares in MF engine parts otherwise !
A neighbour and I have recently built a wood gassifier – more for a laugh than a practical use. We managed to get an aged Suffolk Punch mower engine running smoothly and lashed up a drive to an old car alternator just to prove we could generate. We’re now seriously planning to scale up a more sophisticated and reliable design.
You should be able to get an old MF diesel to run on wood gas.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_gas_generator
FEMA (in the US) have plans online for how to construct a gassifier.
https://permies.com/t/26976/FEMA-wood-gasifier-demonstration-DIY
For a start, note that in the UK, I am aware of no Coal Thermal Power Station that has been “mothballed”. Indeed most have been blown down with chuckling politicians and applause from Justin Lowrat. The last, at Ratcliffe on Soar, will follow them in September and there are plans to redevelop the site almost immediately. A P45 printing shop?
Gas plants are planned to be “mothballed” no doubt. We will pay for the costs of doing so including keeping a skeleton crew capable of running them.
Then note the plans for importing energy from Iceland and Morocco. Transmission losses? Er, what are transmission losses??
Of course, no cost to the UK citizenry, who will be able to spend their time celebrating Hamas murderers, or dancing round maypoles, according to taste (but more likely in the latter case, killing themselves with Fentanyl.) More money? Just print more. It has been such a success in the past.
Don’t forget that France and Germany have ALWAYS been our friends and will happily sell us energy even when they are a bit short themselves.
And we’ll always be able to turn on the telly (if there is any power) and enjoy the wise new words of Miliband, Davey, Vince, Cameron, May, even Bunter, perhaps. Just to remind us how we have showed the World the fastest way over the cliff and to prove that NOBODY WILL EVER BE HELD TO ACCOUNT.
French gas imports from Russia increasing.
https://www.politico.eu/article/france-talk-tough-ukraine-while-gobble-up-more-russia-gas/
French gas imports from Russia increasing.
Is this part of a cunning plan by our glorious leaders to bankrupt Russia under the current financial sanctions re: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ?
My MP was the trade envoy to Morocco before sucking up to Sunak and getting a ministerial job. He thought the solar project and the god knows how many thousands of kilometer transmission cables is a grand idea. Just the cost of the cables was £billions and, as you say, what are the transmission costs, not to mention security of running them across the Straits of Gibraltar (and we’re apparently negotiating with Spain again about Gibraltar), around Spain and Portugal and a Ross the Bay of Biscay to the south coast. Farcical, to put it politely.
Transmission losses, not costs, sorry.
Whilst the DT is right to draw attention to the amount of imported power we still need every gas plant on the system for when the wind blows. This is why majority have capacity market contracts so they aren’t mothballed.
Whilst the DT is right to draw attention to the amount of imported power we still need every gas plant on the system for when the wind blows. This is why majority have capacity market contracts so they aren’t mothballed.
Exactly Mr Brumby. Surely no UK thermal coal kit has been “mothballed” – dynamited yes, rather permanently.
Every planning application that I have seen for a wind farm or a solar farm states that it will increase the security of supply (no explanation as to how an intermittent, uncontrollable and unreliable supply of electricity will increase the security of supply during a dunkelflaute is ever given). We are in the situation where every decision-maker, from the government down to local councillors, assumes this to be correct. The ignorance is unbelievable. Of course those who should be calling this out (the bossses of National Grid ESO and Ofgem) are all very well rewarded for being part of the Net Zero scam designed to impoverish (destroy?) the nation.
Planning is a tricky one, especially if support for renewable energy is written into the local plan in accordance with the climate change act. I am a councillor and have had fellow councillors decry me for being a climate change denier. Having been tarnished with that brush, you tend to be sidelined, especially when the Leader is a holier than thou greenie.
The local plans also recognise a “climate emergency” as well as supporting renewable and low carbon energy. No dissent is allowed and councils cannot afford to refuse an application and fight an appeal against developers with deep pockets.
I live in an AONB, now National Landscape, and I’m am openly telling residents that I oppose solar farms and wind turbines in the NL. Lots of people agree (silently), but this will be like trying to turn round a supertanker. Until something happens at government level, preferably repealing the Climate Change Act, we will continue down this path of energy insecurity and expense.
I’m sure you are correct; only repeal of the CCA and getting rid of Net Zero will end the madness. My observation over the last 20 years is that a younger, greener generation of people who have been indoctrinated at school and university are taking over the planning system (both planning and other council officers and planning committee members). We have just had a massive BESS (400MW) approved on the recommendation of a planning officer who I had never heard of before and who clearly hadn’t a clue about what a BESS was, but believed everything she was told by the developer.
Oh yes, planners think BESS is a marvellous idea. Unfortunately, they’re not required to look at the economics of a scheme, only whether it complies with the local plan and the renewable energy policies and the presumption in favour of sustainable development. Somehow the economic part of sustainable never gets interrogated, or is conveniently forgotten, or because it’s beyond them. If a developer is willing to develop a BESS, ergo it must be viable.
Bridget, if you’ve not signed up already…
‘Repeal the Climate Change Act 2008 and Net Zero targets’
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/657353
Over 8000 signatures so far. It should get to 10000 sigs, though the cynic in me says the response will be ‘shut up plebs and eat your crickets’ but it might make you feel better.
I am a councillor and have had fellow councillors decry me for being a climate change denier.
Keep going! My guess is that your fellow councillors probably mean that you don’t believe that humans are responsible for dangerous climate change, in which case ask them “Where is the proof that humans are responsible for dangerous climate change ? “
I think most of them sit there with their fingers stuck in their ears, shouting la la la, as they don’t want to acknowledge they don’t know what they’re talking about. It’s easier to sit on the virtue-signalling bandwagon and not have to counter the ER-type nutters who turn up to meetings demanding we save the planet, not build any roads or houses. Even disturbing one clod of earth will send us to doomsday, according to them.
I can’t see any commercial justification for building any kind of reliable electricity generation in the UK be it SMR, large nuclear, gas or whatever. All we’re going to have is more interconnectors and renewables.
Doubles all round
There isn’t. Anywhere that prioritises taxpayer subsidised unreliables and has carbon taxes finds that there is no interest from private investors in building even gas generation. What is worrying is that they are surprised by this but then eco-fascism and the leftism have no understanding of economics. Having subsidised unreliable generation and made reliable 24/7 generation uneconomic their belief system forces them to throw subsidies at the reliable generation. As James Donald says at the end of The Bridge on the River Kwai – ‘Madness! Madness!’.
Great, UK power supply security in the hands of our best mate Macron. Better start printing fishing permits fast.
Isn’t everyone missing the obvious point that emissions aren’t being reduced but just moved somewhere else? Similar to the way we close down our manufacturing industries and just buy our manufactured goods from China, as if Chinese emissions somehow don’t count.
Exactly. Even if you have no grasp of physics or geological history the fact that they claim a global problem (climate is local not global but hey, fools making decisions no longer need facts) while at the same time think offshoring the issue is ok, flies a big red flag. This screams that this is purely political and that Klymutt Shengshe is a thin veil draped over the top. What is shocking is how many fools and idiots cannot see through the veil. This is caused in part by a growing proportion of the population made deliberately incapable of critical thinking.
But you are dealing with some of the most stupid human beings in the country – legacy media journalists and MPs of which the snivelling turd Wragg is an excellent example – that are totally oblivious to the bleedin’ obvious.
Actually, if you’re using nuclear (albeit French!) instead of coal or gas, you <b>are</b> reducing emissions. Whether that matters or not, we can debate! But the whole idea is still bonkers, of course.
It’s all part of ‘The Great Green Lie’.
Me thinks………. what happens also should a belligerent third party sever not only our interweb connections but also the electricity interconnectors? Have the “over paid’s” considered that……clearly not!
Just sit back and consider for a moment.
Internet connections vulnerable because we rely on cables on the sea bed.
1 & 2 are 5th column attacks from within our country by people frightened of and supporting the mentally challenged idiots who worship the Klymutt God. At the same time we are dictated to by dangerous virtue signalling fools who are completely oblivious to the heard of elephants in the room which is China, India et al more than replacing our CO2 emissions( even if there were any empirical data based science to demonstrate that CO2 released by the actions of man matters).
This looks like a system deliberately set up to fail.
One from Malta, other examples available.
https://timesofmalta.com/article/interconnector-damage-caused-by-ships-anchor-survey-confirms.761403
Mothballed? I thought we had blown them up.
Looking at Gridwatch the gas portion is very low, so maybe the French nuclear is just cheaper at the moment? The UK hasn’t suddenly run short of gas power plants.
There’s also this…
European Gas Prices Soar As Russian Retribution Puts Kyiv in the Dark – Apr 11, 2024
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/European-Gas-Prices-Soar-As-Russian-Retribution-Puts-Kyiv-in-the-Dark.html
Hadn’t seen your post when I made my comment below. Basically I have just supplied the terrorist road map to destroy the UK grid in seconds!
We no longer have a government. It is a 5th column determined to run our once great United Kingdom into penury and slavery.
And how are we paying for all these imports??
We are bankrupt enough, as it is….!
Ralph
At the risk of the “boys in blue” knocking on my door with a conspiracy charge! Just think about one example of energy security regarding these interconnectors.
IFA1 (2,000MW split over two 1,000MW circuits) and ElecLink (1,000MW) both come from France and both connect to National Grid at the same point i.e. Sellindge Sub Station between Folkestone and Ashford in Kent.
National Grid is charged with being able to sustain power over the network through a maximum loss of supply capacity of 1,800MW i.e. greater than the single point of generator failure which would be deemed to be one reactor at Hinkley Point C. This is known as the Infrequent Loss Limit.
There is no way NG could sustain the grid nationally through the sudden loss of 3,000MW. Thus, any hostile party simply has to “take out” that one point and a major grid collapse is on the cards. In reality the grid controllers could probably stop a national collapse by isolating parts (islanding) but if more than one point were compromised then they definitely couldn’t sustain the system.
So where else? Well also in Kent on the Isle of Grain the BritNed link (1,000MW) is soon to be joined by the NeuConnect (1,400MW) from Germany so that’s another weak point of potentially 2,400MW . And also in Kent at Canterbury the NemoLink (1,000MW) from Belgium connects into the Grid.
So all in all there is likely to be 6,400MW ( potentially over 20% of demand) of “targets” all within a radius of under 25 miles. It does not have to be external “enemy” action. Consider the nut job activists we allow to openly espouse their bile and hatred for the rest of us evil fossil fuel consumers. As far as I am aware none of these sites have any significant form of immediate security protection beyond gate security and high fencing.
Just three drone strikes of relatively small ordnance and you have just knackered the entire country. Think about it!
p.s. Bit like the WW2 Baedeker raids on the UK, we even supply accurate maps of exactly where to attack
Must proof read my posts! Here is an “islanding” link – wikipedia but good enough.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islanding#:~:text=Islanding%20is%20the%20condition%20in,automatic%20re%2Dconnection%20of%20devices.
Steady on Ray, you might set off SS Richard Montgomery.
All part of the plan to destroy the industry and living standards of the West. German businesses are laying off thousands of workers and moving to China where energy is cheap.
It will take a cold winter with no wind to wakeup the people to the myth of green energy. No Tik tok, Instagram and Facebook when there’s no electricity for the Internet infrastructure.
Coming back on Philip Bratby and Bridget Howard-Smith on planning. The Borders is also seeing more and more BESS applications. However, I have also seen demands that they be assessed by Scottish Fire Brigade for safety etc. They are of course prone to catch fire, burn relentlessly, cause considerable pollution, especially if the Fire Brigade has to douse them in water for a couple of days. River catchment areas? Oh my …. and of course they shouldn’t be near any houses, as the residents would have to be evacuated. As for wind farms, there are so many applications around here now that it’s almost impossible to do a proper cumulative assessment. There are signs that local people are getting fed up with this. Grass roots at the moment, but dont despair just yet.
Every number mentioned in this article is some derivation of 8, 11 or 33 – spook markers, as I call them.