MEE 2021: UK spent up to £30m a day on grid inertia during lockdown

The UK was spending as much as £30 million a day on inertia, the safeguard system that regulates the electricity supply on a grid, during the first coronavirus lockdown of 2020 according to Mark Howitt, CTO and Co-Founder of the UK’s Storelectric

The UK was spending as much as £30 million a day on grid inertia, the safeguard system that addresses supply and demand imbalances on a grid, during the first coronavirus lockdown of 2020 according to Mark Howitt, CTO and co-founder of the UK’s Storelectric.

Speaking at the Middle East Energy 2021 conference, Howitt said that huge costs were a result of the high level of renewable energy being used coupled with a massive drop in demand for conventional power generation from power stations. Renewable energy sources do not provide the inertia required for a system to operate. 

“This scenario offered a dry-run if you will of what grids of the future will have to deal with,” Howitt said. “And underlined the importance that large-scale storage solutions were required to help provide the inertia needed for future grids.”

The executive added that Middle East grids would be facing the same challenges as they transition to a greater market share of renewable energy. He said that compressed air technology offered one solution to this issue. 

Middle East Energy Online 2021 is being held virtually over a four week period from 17 May to 9 June.