Demand for power heats up
17 July 2023
Record-breaking temperatures in various parts of the globe are again making headlines. And this is also highlighting something of a paradox.
For several days now, an unusually intense heatwave has affected southern European countries. Named by the Italian Meteorological Society as Cerberus after the three-headed monster in Dante’s Inferno, some countries including Italy and Greece have seen temperatures reach 40C or more.
In North America nearly one third of the population – about 113 million people – are currently under heat advisories, from Florida to California and up to Washington state, according to BBC reports.
Over the weekend, an all-time high of 48C was recorded in Phoenix, Arizona, and the city has recorded temperatures of 43C for 17 consecutive days.
The UN reported that the first week of July saw a global average temperature of 17.23C, the highest ever recorded. Scientists believe this is due to shifts in the jet stream in the upper atmosphere and the regularly occurring El Niňo weather pattern, aggravated by man-made climate change.
The paradox is that in many instances, while people are trying to reduce energy consumption and avoid the burning of fossil fuels, the climate conditions are increasing the demand for power.
In Texas, the BBC reports, air conditioning use has broken the state’s previous record for power consumption, and overnight temperatures have remained abnormally high.
If such trends continue, the need to control energy consumption sensibly will increase, which is a considerable challenge for infrastructure planning, but on a smaller scale the temporary power solutions offered by many hire companies perhaps exemplify a way forward.
As well as reducing energy consumption by generating power sustainably and storing any excess for later use or sale back to the grid, products like solar hybrid generators and battery packs can be monitored via telemetry and electricity directed to where it is specifically needed.
For example, Nixon Hire’s Renewables Division (whose new Wolverhampton flagship depot will feature in a future blog story) can install systems to power site cabins alongside intelligent chargers for electric vehicles. Nick Hibbard, the company's UK Divisional Manager - Renewables, says that if necessary, some power to the charger – or any other part of the installation – can be reduced and diverted elsewhere to meet real-time demands.
In this way, power supplies can be planned with a focus on optimising usage, not just simply reducing it, and if unprecedented demand patterns continue due to climate extremes, such approaches will become all the more essential.
