LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME

[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]


Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

Get weekly updates

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Paypal

Donate via Stripe

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005.

News Watch Home

Europe-wide blackout hints at renewable cause 

The Renewable Energy Foundation is claiming that uncontrolled renewable energy in the form of wind power was a key factor in the grid disturbance and blackout that affected millions in Europe. They write:

‘ Europe’s principal grid authority the “Union for the Co-ordination of Transmission of Electricity” (UCTE) has published a detailed interim report into the grid disturbance that left 15 million households without power, and came close to resulting in a pan-European blackout.

The report reveals that the causes of the event were multi-factorial, but that the key trigger was an unexpected rise in the load on the Landesbergen-Wehrendorf grid link, which joins the grid control areas of E.ON Netz and RWE.

The precise causes of this increase are at present not clear, or have not yet been published, but the role of an unpredicted rise in wind generation (documented by E.ON Netz) appears to be a potentially important feature.

Moreover, UCTE makes it clear that the subsequent behaviour of uncontrollable wind generation was a significant factor in the development of the crisis and the difficulties that the grid operators experienced in restoring the service.

UCTE notes (p. 25) that 60% of wind units tripped in response to the emerging crisis, and then began automatically reconnecting (p. 26ff) exacerbating an already grave situation (p. 30).

John Constable, Director of Policy and Research at the Renewable Energy Foundation said: “The regrettable part played by uncontrollable renewable generation in the European grid crisis of 4th November graphically illustrates the need for scrupulous engineering in UK renewable energy policy.

“At present too much is being left to politics and to chance. This is bad for everybody, and particularly bad for the renewables sector itself.”

LINKS

Renewable Energy Foundation
http://www.ref.org.uk

Union for the Co-ordination of Transmission of Electricity” (UCTE) interim report into the grid disturbance
http://www.ucte.org/

For additional information see the report of E.ON Netz on http://www.eon-netz.com/

environmenttimes.co.uk

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Funding
   Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)
Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI TG TG Share


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook

Wind Watch on Linked In Wind Watch on Mastodon