Matthew Clayton, Managing Director, Thrive Renewables
Written by Matthew Clayton, Managing Director, Thrive Renewables
Renewables have been on the rise in recent years, hitting an all-time high in 2019 with renewable energy generating 36.9% of the UK’s electricity needs. And this trend has only increased since we entered lockdown in mid-March. During the past few months, we’ve seen clean energy records repeatedly broken as the combination of ample sun and wind and low electricity demand has led to an unprecedented proportion of renewable power in the UK’s energy mix.
The UK is experiencing its longest coal free period since the beginning of the industrial revolution with May being the first ever coal-free calendar month. Sunny weather and reduced air pollution has helped drive a new all-time solar generation record in the UK, with solar farms generating a peak of 9.69GW of electricity for the grid in April. On the 24th of May we observed the lowest ever carbon intensity on the grid, only 18g of carbon per kWh, with renewable energy providing 65% of our electricity.
With renewable energy becoming such a significant part of the UK’s energy mix it’s now more important than ever to keep our critical systems running – for frontline services like the NHS, food supply, communications networks and policing; for households in lockdown, home working and home schooling; and for regional authorities such as government departments and local councils.
The UK has one of the most reliable energy networks in the world and across the country there are 36,000 dedicated people working tirelessly to keep the power on and your homes warm.
The engineers who look after wind turbines are part of a team of designated critical workers, but did you know, most of the time they can monitor them from the comfort of home? Here’s how:
Wind turbines normally operate without human intervention –- sensors inside the turbine automatically manage operations like adjusting to different wind speed and directions. Unlike many coal or gas power stations, they don’t need to be staffed.
Turbines are monitored remotely – any unusual signals or alerts from the turbine sensors are picked up at the control room and can be investigated remotely.
The control room is coming home – wind turbines are usually monitored from a centralised control room, but with modern IT systems which can be accessed securely remotely, staff are often able to carry out these operations from their homes.
Most issues can be fixed without visiting the site – it is only a small number of faults, servicing or inspections which require technicians to go to the wind farm. When a site visit is necessary, it will always be planned safely and in line with the government’s public health advice.
Wind turbine engineers are essential workers – due to their incredibly important role maintaining turbines, they are still permitted to travel across the country to carry out their work. In order to safeguard these vital staff, organisations have put in place a range of safety measures, such as working in smaller teams and not mixing, using personal protective equipment such as gloves and face masks and providing disinfectant.
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