https://archive.ph/IFZa2
This is definitely the end of an era.
The Brits led the way into the industrial revolution using coal/steam to power it.
This is the passing of an era for the pioneers.
However the world needs to follow suit…
That is impressive.
They have several coal stations mothballed but ready to go. Just in case. Though how long it will take to get one of those fired up and feeding into the grid I don’t know.
The UK is not self-sufficient in Energy. It still imports some of it’s power from EU countries. These are long links, and if one of those links sustains damage then prices will surge as they try to reduce demand.
I’m sounding cynical about this. I hope to be proven wrong. It will be a good case study.
They are shutting that station as they enter autumn and solar starts waning, so they must have some confidence that they can get through the looming winter. Either that or some regulation has set the date in stone.
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They have a lot or RE power in the mix. Plenty of wind farms stretching out to sea as far as the eye can see.
So estimating self sufficiency wrt power is difficult because you cannot know how much wind or sun or demand there will be…
It’s probably a calculated risk to shut down a power station. My guess is that they have been keeping this one ticking over for years and never actually revved it up in earnest. (see the timeline graph of power produced)
So why keep it on standby if it’s never used??
I follow the National Grid on X. They do have a lot of RE in the mix, but it is a mix. Some days they have lots of wind power, others not so much. Same with solar. The constants are imports and nuclear.
It would be good to hear @Phil.g00 on this subject. He was working in this field so should have some insight which he could share…