On 03/12/2018 17:31, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Mon, 3 Dec 2018 15:42:02 +0000, John Rumm
wrote:
A bit less than that... 1.73GW and 9.1GWh capacity
But that's all.
Not quite, there is Foyers (305 MW, 6.3GW) and Ffestiniog (360MW,
1.3GW), and Cruachan (440MW / 10GWh)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ffestiniog_Power_Station
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cruachan_Power_Station
(So a total capacity of just under 27GWh)
Which, with a load of 40GW (see my earlier calculation) would keep the
lights on in the UK for just....wait for it....40 minutes! Long enough
to find the candles, Gaz lamp and matches, I suppose!
Not 'nothing' IOW
Quite a good document here on storage:
http://www.british-hydro.org/wp-cont...age-report.pdf
The trouble is that although Pumped Storage is generally accepted as a
'good thing', we haven't got the topography to implement it in any way
sufficient to make a significant difference to stored energy relative
to what's needed for an all-renewable supply, as table 5-1 on p. 15
shows. Adding up the capacities on the RH column (taking means where
necessary and including a figure for Glenmuchloch of 1.7 GWh*), gives
a total capacity of 136.8 GWh, which will keep the lights on for 3 hrs
25 minutes on a cold winter's evening WTWDBATSDS. Long enough to watch
a bit of telly, before you retreat, shivering, to bed. (Muaitheabhal,
on the Outer Hebrides, is reticent about it's capacity; plenty of puff
about how many homes it'll supply (200,000), but nothing on how long
for!)
But the monster and near-fantasy Strathdearn scheme proposed by the
'Scottish Scientist' would be more than adequate at 6,800 GWh**,
except that it'll never be built!
* http://euanmearns.com/the-glenmucklo...-hydro-scheme/
** https://tinyurl.com/hcb953s and https://tinyurl.com/zwxx7wq
Interesting, thanks - especially the exchange with 'Gilbert' - who
worked on and studied the Scottish schemes - and concludes:
'It is not about have we the capacity to store renewable energy, we do.
Its about who pays for it and how much'.
--
Cheers, Rob