Coal Fired Power Stations Working Around the Clock

It now seems that a number of power stations are working around the clock to meet the increased demand for power due to the freezing temperatures in the UK. Many of the older coal-fired power stations, which have been operating on restricted hours due to tough emissions restrictions, are now getting to work around the clock to counter the concerns over dwindling energy stocks during the cold weather.

Andrew Horstead, who is a risk analyst for the energy and carbon specialist company Utilyx, said that the extreme conditions of the last week show that now, more than ever, the UK government needs to embrace a diverse mix of energy. While it is very important to commit to a low carbon source of energy, they also need to ensure that energy can be quickly accessed in times of peak demand through improved gas storage and investment in clean coal power stations.

Of course, there have also been some suggestions that the power plants are using this little panic over energy supply to burn dirtier coal. As the demand for more energy goes off the scale, coal has leapfrogged gas to become Britain’s number one energy source. It accounts for 45 percent of the UK energy mix compared to natural gas, which is at 37 percent.

The power generating firm Drax bought huge amounts of coal when prices fell last year. Right now Drax is burning a lot of coal. It is a swing producer and can ratchet up quickly if called upon, a spokesman for the company said.

An energy campaigner for Friends of the Earth, Nick Rau, said that this surge in the burning of coal is a keen jerk reaction. However, it does reveal that they haven’t approached energy provision in a strategic way.