alt Hacker NewsThis 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.
Replies
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...
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