How Britain could end up with blackouts like the one in Spain - Yorkshire Post Letters

Just before Iberia went dark on April 28, solar generated electricity in Spain was producing 53 per cent of Spain’s electricity and wind 11 per cent.

The trouble with that is that if there is a sudden drop in supply from these variable sources then it is extremely difficult for the grid operators to maintain the steady frequency which the grid requires.

And without big thermal power stations producing a steady supply of voltage and power that becomes even more difficult. Power engineers refer to this as inertia.

Energy expert Katherine Porter has described what happens in such a scenario: “In a low inertia environment the frequency can change much faster and the grid operators have less time to react.”

Yet Energy Secretary Ed Miliband is determined to decarbonise the UK’s grid in five years meaning that the inertia of our 49 gas-fired power stations will be lost. You cannot restart wind machines if the wind suddenly drops or solar panels if the sun suddenly dims.