UK windfarms generate record amount of electricity during Storm Malik
Wind speeds of up to 100 miles an hour recorded in Scotland helped send power generation soaring
Jillian Ambrose – The Guardian
Sun 30 Jan 2022 13.27 GMT
The UK’s windfarms generated a record amount of renewable electricity over the weekend as Storm Malik battered parts of Scotland and northern England.
Wind speeds of up to 100 miles an hour recorded in Scotland helped wind power generation to rise to a provisional all-time high of more than 19,500 megawatts – or more than half the UK’s electricity – according to data from National Grid.
National Grid’s electricity system operator said that although it recognised the new milestone towards the UK’s ‘net zero’ carbon future, it was “also thinking of those affected by Storm Malik”.
Gas markets around the world reached record highs due to rising demand for gas as economies have rebounded from the economic shock of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the UK, electricity market prices reached an all-time high of more than £424.60 a megawatt-hour in September, compared with an average price of £44/MWh in the same month the year before.
The UK’s weekend surge in renewable electricity helped to provide a temporary reprieve from its heavy reliance on fossil fuel generation in recent months, which has caused market prices to reach record highs.
The market price for electricity on Saturday fell to £150.59 pounds a megawatt-hour, the lowest level since 3 January, while the price for power on Sunday, when the wind was expected to fall, jumped to more than £193.50/MWh.
The new wind generation record bettered a high recorded last year when the gusty May bank holiday weekend recorded 17.6GW.
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