Dinorwig Power Station

The Dinorwig Power Station is a 1728MW pumped-storage hydroelectric scheme, near Dinorwig, Llanberis in Snowdonia national park in Gwynedd, north Wales. Its purpose is not to help meet peak loads but as a "Short Term Operating Reserve", to provide a fast response to short-term rapid changes in power demand. PurposeThe scheme was built in the days of the CEGB with the purpose of providing peak capacity, very rapid response, power storage and frequency control. Dinorwig's very rapid response capability significantly reduced the need to hold spinning reserve on part loaded thermal plant. When the plant was conceived the CEGB used low efficiency old coal and oil fired capacity to meet peaks in demand. More efficient 500MW thermal sets were introduced in the 1960s initially for baseload operation only. Dinorwig could store cheap energy produced at night by low marginal cost plant and then generate during times of peak demand so displacing low efficiency plant during peak demand periods. There were plans for a pumped storage facility near Exmoor but it was not built. With the increase of renewables such as wind and solar power, the need for storage is expected to increase to deal with intermittency. Today, Dinorwig is operated not to help meet peak loads but as a STOR (Short Term Operating Reserve), providing a fast response to short-term rapid changes in power demand or sudden loss of power stations. In a common scenario (known as TV pickup), the end of a popular national television programme or advertising breaks in commercial television programmes send millions of consumers to switch on electric kettles in the space of a few minutes, leading to overall demand increases of up to. In anticipation of this surge, an appropriate number of units at Dinorwig (or other services competing for National Grid Reserve Service duty) may be brought on line as the closing credits start to roll. The monitoring of popular television channels is an important factor in electricity grid control centres.

The Dinorwig Power Station is a 1728MW pumped-storage hydroelectric scheme, near Dinorwig, Llanberis in Snowdonia national park in Gwynedd, north Wales. Its purpose is not to help meet peak loads but as a "Short Term Operating Reserve", to provide a fast response to short-term rapid changes in power demand. PurposeThe scheme was built in the days of the CEGB with the purpose of providing peak capacity, very rapid response, power storage and frequency control. Dinorwig's very rapid response capability significantly reduced the need to hold spinning reserve on part loaded thermal plant. When the plant was conceived the CEGB used low efficiency old coal and oil fired capacity to meet peaks in demand. More efficient 500MW thermal sets were introduced in the 1960s initially for baseload operation only. Dinorwig could store cheap energy produced at night by low marginal cost plant and then generate during times of peak demand so displacing low efficiency plant during peak demand periods. There were plans for a pumped storage facility near Exmoor but it was not built. With the increase of renewables such as wind and solar power, the need for storage is expected to increase to deal with intermittency. Today, Dinorwig is operated not to help meet peak loads but as a STOR (Short Term Operating Reserve), providing a fast response to short-term rapid changes in power demand or sudden loss of power stations. In a common scenario (known as TV pickup), the end of a popular national television programme or advertising breaks in commercial television programmes send millions of consumers to switch on electric kettles in the space of a few minutes, leading to overall demand increases of up to. In anticipation of this surge, an appropriate number of units at Dinorwig (or other services competing for National Grid Reserve Service duty) may be brought on line as the closing credits start to roll. The monitoring of popular television channels is an important factor in electricity grid control centres.