Wind power generation in Britain reached a ten-year high in the third quarter of 2023, according to a new report by Montel Analytics.
Wind output for the quarter stood at 16.7 TWh, marking the highest level for any Q3 since 2014. Although this was a 3% decrease compared to the previous quarter, it represented an increase of 0.5 TWh from the same period last year.
The surge in wind generation led to higher levels of curtailment activities, as National Grid ESO encouraged wind farm operators to reduce output during periods of excess generation and low demand. This is why battery energy storage and projects like Eastern Green Link 2 are more important than ever.
Despite the high levels of wind generation and wet, windy weather during the quarter, wholesale electricity prices rose by only 3% compared to Q2. This was in spite of increasing gas prices driven by tensions in the Middle East, concerns over potential disruptions of Russian gas flows through Ukraine, an extended outage at the second-largest US LNG export terminal due to Hurricane Beryl’s landfall in Texas, and ongoing maintenance at Norwegian gas fields.
There were also more periods of negative prices in the day-ahead auctions – 50 instances – the most in any Q3 since 2020, which was affected by abnormally low demand during the Covid lockdowns.
The report indicated that Britain remained a net importer during the third quarter, with France and Norway being the largest exporters to the GB market. Meanwhile, the Ratcliffe-on-Soar coal-fired plant was switched off for the last time at the end of the quarter, signalling the end of coal-fired generation in Britain.
Phil Hewitt, Director at Montel Analytics, noted, “Wind generation continued its upward trend as Britain looks to produce more of its electricity from cleaner sources. Curtailment of wind generation became necessary particularly during windy spells in early July, mid-August and early September, with record bid volumes being used to manage excess available wind output. Effectively, wind farm operators post bid prices at which they would be willing to reduce output if required and the system operator accepts bids as required to manage transmission constraints and/or excess levels of wind generation during periods of low demand on the system.”
“Although gas-fired generation increased slightly from 13.4 TWh to 13.8 TWh in the third quarter, this marks the second lowest quarterly CCGT generation output in our 20-year data series, which underscores the growing impact of renewable capacity in displacing conventional gas-fired generation. Of that, we estimate that up to around 2 TWh of CCGT offers were made to offset the wind generation lost due to curtailment.”
Total generation in Britain excluding imports was 54.3 TWh, a 3% decrease from the previous quarter and the lowest quarterly total since Q3 2022. Imports continued to make a significant contribution to Britain’s power mix, with a net energy import of 8.1 TWh via interconnectors this quarter – significantly higher than net imports of 3.7 TWh in Q3 2022 and a reversal of the 4.6 TWh net exports in Q3 2021, when issues with the French nuclear fleet and high gas prices reduced supply from the continent.
Renewables accounted for 47.3% of the GB generation mix in Q3, with notable contributions from wind (16.7 TWh), biomass (7.1 TWh), solar (4.7 TWh), and hydro (1.1 TWh). Biomass output increased by 10%, hydro rose by 13%, and solar generation reached its highest level for any Q3 since 2020, totalling 4.7 TWh.
Gas-fired generation made up 22% of Britain’s power mix, with nuclear energy contributing 17% and imports accounting for the remaining 13%.