The Problem With Renewable Energy (and how we're fixing it)

As the world switches to renewable energy - and we are switching - there's a problem you might not expect: balancing the grid. Rotational mass and system inertia are the things that keep your lights from flickering: and they only appear in big, old, traditional power stations. Here's why that's a problem, and how we're likely going to fix it.

Thanks to all the team at SSE! FULL DISCLOSURE: This is not a sponsored video, no money has changed hands, and SSE did not have editorial control. But they did go out of their way to arrange access and support for me and my team, including giving us safety training for working at heights. I am incredibly grateful to all the team: Paul and Ed for arranging it all; Bob and Scott who helped us at the turbine; and Calum, Head of Operations, who was keeping an eye on safety throughout.

and on Instagram and Snapchat as tomscottgo

[Falcondances]

"Throw another nuclear rod on the barbie"
Lost it at that one

[amitzohar]

"And that, is what stops your lights from constanly flickering"
**Lights flicker in my house immidiately after I hear this sentence**

[RicchetAus]

"Throw another Nuclear Rod on the barbie, mate" - Common power station manager phrase

[Worldwidegamr]

Yeah but a big monolithic battery would still be cool af.

[easkay]

It's really interesting watching a few years later, with some grid-scale energy storage companies and systems starting to make their way onto the grid.

[acmefixer]

Things have changed since 4 years ago. Now in 2020 the utilities are installing the 'monolithic batteries' that Tom mentioned. The grid scale battery at Hornsdale in Australia has about the same power as Tom's wind farm -- 150 megawatts. Tesla installed it in a few months and it has paid for itself very quickly. These are being installed in the US and other countries. They are solving the problem of frequency regulation that Tom mentioned. Thanks for the video, Tom.

[aviramster]

Love your videos. I studied engineering and never did we learn such interesting topics.

[dcjxd]

I recently wrote my master thesis about the storage demand that comes with volatile renewable e-production. Just like the renewables themselves, we need a large portfolio of solutions to ensure security of supply. There is no wonder solution (like solar roadways and all those other scams). It's really nice to see you making a video about this subject!

[TomScottGo]

This is the last video before I set off for the Arctic! On Monday, we start a run of guest videos by some amazing YouTubers who you might not have heard of: they're all videos I'd be happy to do myself, so hopefully y'all will greet them as warmly as you can! I'll see you in September...

[connierule]

The thing I love about this series and really all educational youtube channels is that even though this was posted 2 years ago it still has educational worth to anyone who watches it today. Sure science has improved since then and there are new things to talk about but this has more lasting worth than most other styles of video.

[avramlevitter]

This is precisely the reason I want to study energy storage. If we have a breakthrough in energy storage where we can store energy at even 50% efficiency, we can be able to run grids reliably higher than needed because there's a place for that energy to go.

[Vnifit]

"Just throw another nuclear rod on the barbie" -Tom Scott 2016

[anonharingenamn]

OH MY GOD. HOW HAS NO ONE EVER TOLD ME ABOUT HOW THE TURBINES WORK!? THEY HAVE TO SPIN AT THE SAME RATE!?

[KevinVanGelder]

Here in the northwest United States, we have the massive batteries you're looking for in the form of hydro. The local rivers actually fluctuate in depth on a daily basis as electricity demand fluctuates.

[evanblount]

"Umm, we'll be filming this on a turbine Tom."
"Bloody hell, is it okay if I wear a go pro if I fall?"
"Might as well"

[zimi]

I would prefer Tom instead of my current Geography teacher tbh

[Ensivion]

I like your style, it's like every adventurer's dream to just go out in the world and be where stuff is happening. I appreciate your reports on them.

[ANigerianPrince]

I will forever love the phrase "Throw another nuclear rod on the barbie"

[that_pac]

It's videos like this that make me mad that no one ever bothered to tell me anything about how power grids work... it was a glorious video.

[muhh]

"Rotating thousends of times a second"? I don't believe you.