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FPN - Final Physical Notification - the amount they WILL generate in the relevent period.
MEL - Maximum export limit - The amount they CAN generate in the relevent period.
I need to check up on BOA.
TuftedDuck, what do the labels FPN, MEL and BOA mean on your friend's website? Drax 5 and 6 are currently showing MEL of 645MW - is that just the nominal capacity?
Can't promise, but I'll try. It tends to be when there is very little wind around teatime / darkness (highest demand of the day). On Monday, there was only about 700MW of wind. Today and the next couple of days it's forecast over 10,000MW.
The main interest on the system now, is what will happen next winter. Drax 5 & 6, Ratcliffe 1, and the remaining 2 units at West Burton A are all due to decommission this summer. I think there is a good chance that owners may be incentivised to keep some of these units available.
Tufted. Thank you for correcting me. I bow to your greater technical knowledge. I assumed wrongly that big increase in coal usage in power generation was due to input from Drax. Can you maybe let us know if/when Drax Coal kicks in? Captain Birdseye!!!
Idad, sorry you find it too complex. I accept that the amount of info provided can be daunting, I have the advantage of having worked with it for many years. But, it's no good looking at simplified info presentation and making assumptions -
"Coal, much of it powered by Drax continuing to feed into grid at 5% of total output at 0500hrs this morning!"
There are currently 4 coal units on the bars (3 at 05:00hrs) They are all at Ratcliffe, owned by Uniper. Ratcliffe still self dispatches much of the time - selling power in the market. Drax 5 & 6 only run when called for by the System Operator.
Coal, much of it powered by Drax continuing to feed into grid at 5% of total output at 0500hrs this morning! Filling our collective boots... But thosec shoosh don't tell those ghastly Greens who'd rather our lights went out instead haha!
Thankyou Tufted. Your solution helps to an extent but is too complex and complicated for a layman such as me. My solution is better I think just for it's simplicity. Captain Birdseye!
This is a website created by a friend of mine. It pulls in all the data from Elexon and displays it very well.
http://bmrsdata.ddns.net/?fbclid=IwAR0a7Z5bY05ayvNuxzJtOEnzhTRXQHnOLOluzLsAhAs8X4zm6QT2RSskY68
Just google - energy grid UK and scroll down to generation. There you see coal supplying 5% of generating needs at 2100 hrs today. Coal normally supplies nil so Drax obviously doing well in supplying shortfall! Captain Birdseye!
Tuftedduck: I am looking at the site and can't seem to find the relevant information. Would you please mind sharing the link. Thanks
aarya - It's all freely available data from elexon, called BMRA data.
"for Drax today. With very low wind, both the coal units have been bought on in the balancing mechanism at £4,000 and £4,050 per MWhr."
Tuftedduck: Where did you get this information from. Thanks.
When the Grid is running the OCGT's at near maximum output you know things are getting desperate.
Like now.
Not quite NR. When the System Operator buys units on, he buys them to minimum stable load (300MW for Drax Units) unless the **** really hits the fan. Currently grossing £2.36M/hr.
so, about £5.5m/ hr revenue, less operating costs.....13th May will be gravy, meat and all the trimmings!
for Drax today. With very low wind, both the coal units have been bought on in the balancing mechanism at £4,000 and £4,050 per MWhr.
Whilst I do have misgivings about the consequences of generating electricity by combustion of carbon based fuels biomass is infinitely better than using fossil fuels that have zero capacity to regenerate. Global CO2 is increasing at 2ppm/pa and if Drax and its partners can make BECCS work there is a real possibility to achieve zero or even negative carbon growth that does not solely rely on sequestering CO2 in semi-permeable subsea geological formations. As for the destruction of forests, yes this is not ideal but unlike Amazonian and other jungle environments where slash & burn is the norm, these areas are being actively managed and if replanted will within 25yrs be pulling out more CO2 than the trees that were cut down.
Drax should be positively encouraged to continue along this path to become increasingly environmentally friendly including adding more locally sourced biomass and converting its transatlantic shipping to switch from heavy fuel oil to Ammonia or similar 'green' power.
Biomas is nothing more than a made up name for wood pellets. You don't burn the equivalent of 25 million trees a year by using saw mill off cuts, paper pulp and broken branches. We are talking wholesale destruction of forests here!
This article was written 9 years ago, before this biomas twaddle started.
It states two basic scientific facts.
1. Trees absorb Carbon Dioxide.
2. Burning trees releases the Carbon Dioxide back into the atmosphere.
"Trees remove and sequester carbon from the atmosphere, in the form of carbon dioxide, acting as important stores, or “sinks,” of carbon that help to offset its accumulation in the atmosphere. When trees and other woody material in the forest are burned by fire, they release carbon back to the atmosphere, mostly as carbon dioxide, where it may once again act as a greenhouse gas that promotes warming."
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2012/07/24/shocker-burning-trees-release-stored-carbon/
The IPCC may well ignore or gloss over this, but they cannot change the rules of science.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/oct/19/drax-dropped-from-index-of-green-energy-firms-amid-biomass-doubts
"Drax Drax dropped from index of green energy firms amid biomass doubts Doubts over sustainability of company's wood-burning power plant mount within financial sector"
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/11/06/uk-has-real-problems-burning-wood-electricity-admits-zac-goldsmith/
"There are “real problems” with the burning of wood pellets for energy, an environment minister has admitted, after the Telegraph revealed Britain will continue to burn the equivalent of 25 million trees a year, despite a pledge to end the destruction of forests..."
Is is not me who needs to do some research Mattw007.
But, I won't waste time arguing with a fool.
Have a great Christmas.
GRIDWATCH today, Solar 0% , Wind 3.8 % COAL 4.75 % DRAX 6.9% Gas and nukes running near flat out even the OCGT's running. We are hanging on by our fingernails.
No Drax , no lights on. Simple choice.
From the Cityam article:
"The company argues the carbon they emit is offset by freshly planted trees."
Just one problem a tree can be burned in minutes in DRAX's furnaces, but it takes decades to plant and regrow.
In my opinion DRAX should be ashamed of their part in this government approved scam to burn wood instead of coal and claim it is cleaner and carbon neutral. To then sell this con to other countries for profit is despicable. There is nothing green about destroying forests!
For a more in depth report read this article in Friday's Daily Mail.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10319045/ROSS-CLARK-madness-burning-wood-pellets-USA-considered-green-energy-UK.html
"Must say it pulled together a coherent narrative for biomass and carbon capture strategy."
Let's call a spade a spade!
Biomas is wood pellets produced by chopping down trees. Whole forests are being felled; it is not fallen trees and saw mill offcuts as DRAX would like us to believe.
And as for carbon capture has anyone actually achieved this as opposed to just talking about it?
The world has a natural source of carbon capture, they are called trees. So how can cutting down and burning trees help to reduce our CO2 emissions?
This carbon neutral wood burning scam perpetrated by DRAX has been challenged in the House of Commons, and not before time.
I watched the strategy update.
Must say it pulled together a coherent narrative for biomass and carbon capture strategy.
Looking at the numbers for the current business, I make it that EBITDA will be £500M higher for 2022 than it is for 2021. (Using current forward curves)
I assume they are being low key about that for political reasons.