Britain's wind turbines ground to a near halt this week, as another heat wave brought calm conditions and forced the nation to switch to gas for power generation.
Wind accounted for just 5% of electricity output Wednesday, with gas climbing to more than a third, according to data from the National Energy System Operator. In the wind-farm heartland of northern Scotland, gas contributed 71% of generation, with wind at 29%.
The high-pressure weather pattern that's fueling heat wave conditions across Europe has smothered wind speeds in the UK and other countries across the region. That's exposing the risks of an increasing reliance on intermittent renewable power.
The growth of wind and solar energy over the past decade is pushing the UK toward its goal of generating 95% of the country's electricity from low-carbon sources by 2030. But when imbalances occur, the nation is falling back on fossil fuels to meet demand peaks, pressuring gas and power prices higher and complicating the grid's ability to send electricity where it's needed.
Southern England is currently the only region where renewable sources, including solar and nuclear, account for more than half of generation. In South Wales, gas generation has surged to 77% of the mix, with solar taking 21% and wind just 2%, NESO's data show.
Forecast models suggest a recovery in wind generation in Iberia and Italy next week, but probably not in the UK and north-central Europe, according to an analysis from MetDesk meteorologist Matthew Dobson.
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