Post #1073483
2026-04-10 09:28 UTC
Constraints on the electricity transmission network between Scotland and England (as well as further north in Scotland) mean that we can't move enough energy across the border without overloading the system.
Imagine a cup constantly filling with water, if your straw is too thin then you won't be able to drink enough water before the cup overflows.
In our case the straw is the electricity grid at the border, and the water is the energy generated by the wind farms in Scotland.
Replies (2)
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@robhawkes@fosstodon.org 2026-04-10 09:28
Any overflowing water would be bad news for the grid so we do everything we can to avoid it. The result is that we pay generators in Scotland to reduce their output so the cup doesn't overflow. Wind farms are usually picked for this because they are the cheapest to switch off and can provide the volumes of energy needed to resolve the constraints.
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@kbm0@mastodon.social 2026-04-10 13:52
@robhawkes There seems to be an enormous void in northern England on that map. I'm sure we have a lot of wind farms around here.