Breathing new life into hydroelectrics

It can be hard to imagine after the travails of a typically blustery winter, but the wind does not always blow in the UK.

This means the country’s increasing number of wind turbines, which provided 11 per cent of our electricity supply in 2015, are not always spinning at times of peak demand. Conversely, the wind often blows at night, when demand is low.

This can make life very difficult for the National Grid, which has to ensure there is always sufficient electricity available to meet demand. Last year, for example, UK wind farms were paid £90m not to produce energy at times of low demand.

Although the supporters of renewables counter that the difficulties of incorporating them onto the grid have been exaggerated, since wind speeds tend to vary across the country at any given time, thereby helping to balance out supply, the problem is likely to grow as their use increases.

To tackle this problem, two government-funded reports, both published in March, argue that electricity storage will need to play a significant role in the UK’s future energy mix.