Comments on: Wales Gets Huge New Water Battery But Loses Good Crack

By: Aegys87

Aegys87 — Thu, 05 Sep 2013 08:14:00 +0000

Go UK! NOw just build more and more solar and wind power plant, screw those intermitten argument

By: Ross

Ross — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 18:26:00 +0000

Dinorwig has an efficiency of 74-75%.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinorwig_Power_Station

By: Breakingwind

Breakingwind — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 08:04:00 +0000

In an emergency UKs total pumped storage (23,279MW), could only supply 4% of max demand for 6 hrs then 0.8% for 4hrs.

Full recovery time is approx 17hrs & takes about 36,373 MW of SURPLUS power !!!

Britain currently has 4 major operating pumped storage schemes –

Dinorwig – 1659 MW for 6 hrs

Ffestiniog – 360 MW for 7hrs

Cruachan Dam – 440MW for 10hrs [worlds first, opened in 1965]

Foyers – 305 MW for 21hrs

Plus 2 small schemes under construction (online 2016??)

There are only 3 other possible sites in Britain which, if constructed would only give another 1 – 1.5% reserve but at a cost of
£billions & take 8-10 yrs.

Pumped Hydro uses approx 36% more power to pump the water uphill than it generates running down.

( Pumped Hydro is approx 80% efficient in each direction – so 100% energy in x 0.8 x 0.8 = 64 % out )

Glyn Rhonwy’s 500MWh storage is 5% of nearby Dinorwig & will add approx 0.08% available capacity to the grid.

British planners are not treating grid battery storage with any urgency, because of-

1, low power density.

2 .high losses, + multiple gender change losses.

3. high cost to benefit ratio.

4. battery technologies are dirty, poluting & expensive at both ends of life

new battery technologies are being developed …but doubtful if they will be in use for next 10/20yrs.

By: Ronald Brakels

Ronald Brakels — Wed, 04 Sep 2013 02:51:00 +0000

Does this mean there are now people walking around in Wales asking, “Woz the crack?” and getting the reply, “It’s a pumped hydro facility.”

(Note this comment will mean nothing to people who speak sensibly.)

By: Kiwiiano

Kiwiiano — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 23:02:00 +0000

While I can sympathise with recreational climbers who will lose some facilities, let’s not forget that almost EVERYTHING humans do affects and loses something: cities, roads, ports, factories, farms, forests, you name it, something was lost in the making. In the mean time the pumped storage is going to help in reducing Britain’s carbon footprint by smoothing wind power output and reducing the need for Russian natural gas to be burnt. That is a major major advance!

By: JamesWimberley

JamesWimberley — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 18:47:00 +0000

Glyn Rhonwy is a very small project at 50 MW. Wales already has a much bigger one, the 1.7 GW plant at nearby Dinorwig - designed to be able to reboot the entire British National Grid in the event of a catrastrophic, system-wide failure. The other big plant in Britain is the 440 MW one at Ben Cruachan in Scotland, with a turbine hall carved out inside the mountain. There´s one plan for a new plant on this scale, also in Scotland at Coire Glas (600MW). The 2.8 GW of these three plants alone will match almost 5% of peak UK demand of 60 GW. Not surprisingly, British planners are not treating grid battery storage with any urgency.

By: Ross

Ross — Tue, 03 Sep 2013 16:44:00 +0000

Go Wales!