Proactive Investors - Warnings have emerged over intermittent generation as the UK power grid rapidly turns to renewables such as wind and solar farms.
EDF (EPA:EDF) commercial director Rachael Glaving told the Conservative Party Conference on Tuesday that grid “stability” was at risk as power stations were shut to make way for renewables.
This includes the likes of nuclear stations, she highlighted, with her comments also coming after the UK’s final coal power plant, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, was closed on Monday.
“We will lose our strong foundation of baseload generation, which helps support renewables, and which has made it possible to add so much wind and solar.”
Glaving said the issue of intermittency, resulting from wind and solars’ reliance on weather, would be a key challenge for the UK’s new National Energy System Operator (NESO).
Following the sale of National Grid PLC (LON:NG.)’s system operating wing to the government last month, this was officially set up on Tuesday to oversee the UK’s electricity and gas grids.
“If you start eroding the foundation then we have to start leaning on other things to support renewables,” she warned, pointing to the likes of imported energy from Europe.
Her comments come as the closure of five EDF nuclear plants in the UK looms, while replacements Hinkley Point C in Somerset and Suffolk’s Sizewell C remain under construction.
Britain has laid out targets to fully decarbonise its power grid by 2030, with the NESO’s position running both electricity and gas transmission aimed at supporting this.
Energy minister Michael Shanks reaffirmed on Tuesday that the UK “must reduce [...] reliance on fossil fuels” to “protect billpayers,” highlighting the NESO’s task ahead of managing the transition.