Report warns reliance on wind will drive power price volatility

The expansion in wind energy capacity across the British Isles will result in huge electricity price volatility unless major reforms are undertaken to grid management in the UK and Ireland.

That is the conclusion of a study released last week by research firm Poyry Energy Consulting, which warns that significant investment in grid technologies will be required to ensure that the intermittent nature of wind energy does not undermine the reliability of electricity supplies.
The study is based on more than 2.5 million pieces of data taken from 36 locations in the UK and Ireland between 2000 and 2007.

It argues that plans to generate up to 8GW of wind power for the Irish electricity market and up to 45GW for the British electricity market by 2030 face a significant barrier in the form of intermittent levels of wind energy generation.

The study found that even at an annual level, wind generation output varied by almost 25 per cent in the Irish market and 13 per cent in the British market. It also warned that both markets were affected by the fact that electricity demand is high on frosty nights when there is virtually no wind and low energy output. In contrast, electricity demand tends to fall when strong south westerlies blow across the British Isles, bringing with them warmer air.

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