What Happens When Solar Energy's Eclipsed

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20 March 2015 | Updated 01 January 1970

For many people in the UK, watching the solar eclipse this Friday was a matter of seeing the clouds growing darker and then lightening again.

Despite media channels plugging the event and then warning of how the National Grid would struggle to cope with the challenge of a fall in supply, followed by a surge, there appeared to be no real problems reported.

The National Grid was confident that it could manage the dips and rises in demand. Speaking a day earlier, Jeremy Caplin, Forecasting Manager, National Grid, said: “This loss of solar is entirely manageable and will be largely offset by demand suppression. We started planning for this in May last year and have a range of tools in place to manage any effects of the eclipse and balance the network, including demand side services and extra generation.”

In fact, National Grid predicted a loss of 850MW of solar power on the system. It believed this would be largely offset by a 1,100MW drop in demand for electricity as people ventured outside to see the phenomenon. The net effect of the eclipse would be a 200MW drop in demand at 9.30am as people watched the eclipse, similar to the typical demand for the Glasgow area.

The solar supply industry was confident that the eclipse provided no real problems for those who now rely more on it than before, partly because of the duration of the event and that technology allows for efficient and effective means of storage. "Since the last solar eclipse in 1999, the UK has gone from negligible amounts of solar power to over 5GW today – that's enough to power 1.5million homes,” explained Leonie Greene, Head of External Affairs, Solar Trade Association. “Solar provides around 1.5% of the UK's total annual power output currently. More in summer, less in winter. So at this time of year, in the morning, the impact of the eclipse on solar output will be particularly small. There is no cause for concern; rather an exciting reminder of what a natural and cosmic source of energy solar power is.”

Other countries that rely on solar energy, particularly Germany, may have to manage the dips and surges to cope without any danger of power cuts. It has approximately 39GW (gigawatts) of installed solar capacity compared with the UK’s 5GW, the equivalent to the power output from about eight to 10 gas fired power stations.

Picture:    The lights are going out all over Europe….not quite as the National Grid and elsewhere seemed to cope with the event.

Article written by Mike Gannon | Published 20 March 2015

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