Traditional power companies dump energy
Swapping some of our traditional electric generation for new sources will drive changes on many fronts. . Power Companies Dump Energy: When Too Much Isn't a Good Thing Ever wondered what happens when power companies produce more electricity than we can use? Spoiler alert: they literally dump energy. It sounds wild, right? Like pouring a perfectly good milkshake down the drain because your fridge is. . Some countries produce too much electricity at a certain period of the year, and have to pay another country to get rid of their extra own unconsumed electricity. For more details on quantities released, toggle to the “Releases Only” graph. Waste managed from electric utilities: 941 million pounds. . Burning waste to generate heat and electricity was deemed the UK's “dirtiest form of power” in a BBC investigation in October 2024, after the country's last coal plant closed the month before. Nearly all types of electric power plants effect the environment, but some power plants have larger effects than others. [PDF Version]FAQS about Traditional power companies dump energy
Can a thermal power plant dump electricity directly?
Dumping the electrical energy directly isn't very practical (or safe) and probably doesn't work the way you think it does. Thermal power station dump heat directly into the air/water in this case rather than creating the electricity in the first place. Power plants have to match production to demand.
Do I need to dump energy?
There is no need to dump energy. They just turn the power plant down. Same as if you are heating your house and it's too hot, you just turn the heater down. This all happens automatically anyway, it's normally a legal requirement when connecting a power plant to the grid that it can be turned down if needed.
How do you dump energy?
The only way to “dump” the energy is to attach more load to dump it into. This could be in the form of batteries, pumped storage, hydrogen generators or anything else. The limiting factor is often the cost of installing new transmission lines. The cost of transmission is often much higher than the cost of generation for renewables.
How do power grids deal with small mismatches in supply and load?
The energy has to go somewhere. Power grids can deal with small mismatches in supply and load by allowing the frequency to deviate. A drop in frequency has the effect of reducing the load due to non-ELI5 effects like inductive reactance.