By Paul Homewood
AS Britain continues to swelter in the heat, the blades of country’s wind turbines are turning incredibly slowly in the face of a nationwide “wind drought” which has seen a dramatic drop in the amount of energy produced.
PUBLISHED: 11:08, Wed, Jul 18, 2018 | UPDATED: 11:28, Wed, Jul 18, 2018
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Right now wind turbines throughout Britain are moving very slowly – if at all
New figures compiled by Imperial College London’s Rod Gross revealed July’s wind output was down by 40 percent so far compared with the same period last year.
He said: “We’ve been typically doing between two to three gigawatts of wind [generation].
“At a windier time of the year we might be doing nine or 10.”
The unusual stillness in the air is the result of a sustained period of high, dense pressure over the UK, according to the Met Office.
A Met Office spokesman said: “It’s like a lid, it keeps everything still.
“From the forecast looking out over the next couple of weeks, there doesn’t seem to be any significant change on the way.”
A National Grid spokesman said: “Between June 4 and July 15 wind generation was around 30 per cent lower compared to the same period last year.
“Electricity demand is low and we’re comfortable with the level of spare generation we have available.
“As we continue to transition to a low carbon energy system, managing the intermittency of renewable power is an important role in balancing supply and demand.
“However, we have planned for these changes and ready to play our part.”
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July 19, 2018 at 04:33AM
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