Surging solar generation this summer could send legacy, inflexible generators off the grid as National Grid expects yet another period of supply and demand travails.
Yesterday the transmission system operator (TSO) released its Summer Outlook, an annual document which includes its forecasts of supply and demand and, crucially, how it expects to balance the grid.
The UK’s ~13GW of operational solar is again expected to set new records for its percentage share of generation throughout the summer months, which will in turn have a more significant impact on transmission system demand with the bulk of solar generators sitting on distribution networks.
In March 2017, unseasonably bright conditions saw the UK’s solar fleet send daytime demand dip below that of the previous night for the first time in the grid’s history.
Read more: Solar Power Portal