Is It Getting Too Hot For Solar Panels In Terms Of Renewable Energy?

According to a tweet from DUP MP Sammy Wilson, “The UK has had to start coal fired generators during this heatwave because the sun is too strong and solar panels have to be taken offline.”

That is untrue.

While it is true that solar panels perform less effectively in high temperatures, this decrease is only marginal and was not the primary driver behind the operation of coal power plants.

When we spoke with Mr. Wilson, he confirmed that the article he had read had stated that output had fallen by a “severe” amount rather than that the panels needed to be turned off.

Every degree above 25C in temperature causes a 0.34 percentage point decrease in solar panel performance, according to Solar Energy UK.

It further stated that even though the efficiency of solar power decreases during the summer because of the longer days and clearer skies, much more electricity is still produced.

The UK utilized coal for the first time in 46 days on Monday, June 12, yet solar energy still produced about one-fifth of the nation’s electricity in the middle of the day.

Last weekend’s solar energy output was down by about a quarter from the weekend prior, but it still produced a sizable amount of electricity.

In total, solar energy made up 9.2% of the electricity used in the UK over the previous seven days. That contrasts with 4.3% for the entirety of 2022, indicating that it has been producing more electricity than usual over the previous week, as one might anticipate during the summer.

The restarting of coal power plants for a short time is explained by a variety of additional factors:

Because of the heat, there was an increase in the need for electricity for air conditioning.
Because there was less wind, wind farms produced less electricity than usual.
Less natural gas could be used thanks to maintenance on gas-powered plants.
Due to a technical issue, the capacity of the power interconnectors between the UK and Norway was reduced, which limited the amount of electricity that could be imported.

The UK needs to be better prepared for times when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine, according to the independent advisers to the government, the Climate Change Committee, who stated this in March.

It was argued that this may be accomplished without adding to the emissions of greenhouse gases, for instance, by investing in hydrogen and continuing with some sparing usage of natural gas that has undergone carbon capture technology.

As a significant step toward achieving its overall net zero by 2050 goal, the government has pledged to producing 100% of the electricity by 2035 from clean sources.