LESSONS LEARNED ?
We already knew
adding low inertia
electricity generators,
such as wind and solar,
will make
any electric grid
less stable,
The costs of a
largely decentralized
generation "portfolio",
much of it wind and solar,
include more frequent
brownouts and blackouts.
A former
National Grid
director has said
that UK ministers
should impose limits
on new wind and solar
farms, to help avoid
power cuts.
E3C is the Energy
Emergencies
Executive
Committee (E3C)
of the Department
for Business, Energy
and Industrial
Strategy (BEIS).
The E3C report
is encouraging
consumers
of all kinds
to develop
“strong business
continuity plans”
covering
“a range of
credible power
disruption
scenarios”.
Blame the
electricity
customers ?
The E3C is
indirectly saying:
'Forget about
past decades
of a robust UK
electricity supply.
In the
new world,
with growing
reliance on
solar and
wind power,
this is likely to
happen again'.
So I guess everyone
in the UK should buy
a natural gas, gasoline
or diesel fuel
powered generator
( and don't you dare blame
the solar and wind farms ) !
Here's my summary:
The extreme grid
management
measures
required by
the increasing
use of “clean”
wind and solar
electricity systems,
are moving beyond
the abilities of the
system operators
to precisely match
electricity demand with
electricity production.
BLACKOUT SUMMARY:
The blackout disconnected
over 1 million consumers
for nearly an hour.
Impacts
persisted
for days,
in some cases,
and several weeks,
for an oil refinery.
All caused by just
one lightening strike,
which suggests
a not very robust
electricity system.
Overall weaknesses
in the UK electricity
system emerges from
these two new reports.
Electricity systems
shift from stability
to chaos in fractions
of a second, while the
causes of a blackout
take weeks, or months,
to understand.
DETAILS:
A lightning strike
triggered the
disconnection
of 150 MW of
Distributed
Generation.
Distributed generation refers to a variety of technologies that generate electricity at or near where it will be used, such as solar panels and combined heat and power. ...
In the residential sector, common distributed generation systems include: Solar photovoltaic panels and small wind turbines.
Distributed generation refers to a variety of technologies that generate electricity at or near where it will be used, such as solar panels and combined heat and power. ...
In the residential sector, common distributed generation systems include: Solar photovoltaic panels and small wind turbines.
That was
losely followed
by the loss
of 737 MW
of the
Hornsea 1
offshore
wind farm.
Then the
steam unit
at Little Barford
Combined Cycle
Gas Turbine
tripped off.
All of this happened
within one second
of one lightning strike.
The two main
Transmission System
connected generators,
Hornsea 1 and
the Little Barford,
have both been fined
£4.5 million each,
for failing to ride
through the fault.
The consequent drop
in frequency triggered
further disconnections
of Distributed Generators.
Then the first
of the two
gas turbines
at Little Barford
had to disconnect,
closely followed by
the second
gas turbine,
and yet more
Distributed
Generation.
Distributed Generation
means generators
that are connected to,
and sometimes said
to be “embedded within”,
the Distribution Network.
These generators
are usually invisible
to the system operator,
and can range from
very small domestic
systems, right up to
large onshore wind
and solar installations.
Distributed Generation
was a leading cause
of the severity of
the August 9 blackout.
It's also increasing
the future risks
to the security of
the electricity supply.
FINAL REPORTS:
Both the UK electricity
market regulator,
Ofgem, and the
Energy Emergencies
Executive Committee
( E3C )
of the Department
for Business, Energy
and Industrial Strategy
( BEIS )
have now (early January)
released their final reports
on the August 9, 2019
blackout.
Ofgem’s work
is almost complete
( there is one more
yet to be published
technical paper ),
and concentrates on
regulatory compliance.
E3C examines
measures
that should be,
or are being taken
to:
a)
Reduce the likelihood
of a recurrence
of a similar blackout,
and
b)
Improve the way
such a blackout
is handled if it
can't be prevented
There were some
new facts about
the blackout:
- Four hospitals,
not just the
Ipswich Hospital,
were disconnected
by the blackout
- National Grid
over-zealously
reconnected
the Hornsea 1
wind farm, before
it was confident
that the wind farm’s
“technical issues”
had been understood.
- 371 rail services
were cancelled,
and 220 were
part cancelled
The E3C report says
“There is a significant possibility
that the total volume of loss
of embedded generation
on 9 August is in excess
of the transmission connected
generation lost during the event.”
Since the transmission-
connected generation
lost was Hornsea
and Little Barford,
and they total 1,384 MW,
we can assume
about 1.5 GW of
Distributed Generation
disconnected over
the entire event.
That suggests the
total generation loss
during the blackout
was a huge 3 GW.
Distribution Network
Operators (DNOs),
disconnected
about 5% of load,
totaling 892 MW
of net demand.
Although the DNOs
disconnected 892 MW
of demand, the observed
benefit to the system,
at this time of extreme
stress, was only 350 MW.
In total, 550 MW of
embedded generation
was disconnected by
measures taken
to address the blackout.
Because of
the presence of
embedded
generators,
remedial actions
to address
a system
disturbance
actually made
the problem worse !
Both Hornsea
and Little Barford
have been penalized.
But neither of them are
embedded generators,
and they have no role
in the management
of such generation.
National Grid
was not fined.
Ofgem said:
[…] the ESO
could have been
more proactive
in understanding
and addressing
issues with
distributed
generation
and its impact
on system
security.
( page 22 )