POWER SUPPLY
POWERING THROUGH
Power generation now comes in many forms, both renewable and fossil. Each has its own particular needs from the lifting industry. Julian Champkin reports.
T
he power-generating industry used to be a simple one. There was fossil fuel, there was hydroelectric power,
throw in nuclear – and that was about it. Today, the picture has been transformed. Britain’s last coal-powered generating station, at Ratcliffe-on-Soar in Nottinghamshire, ceased operations on the final day of September 2024. The year before, there had been nine. There are still 49 gas-powered power plants, which generate some 72TW between them, but that is expected to fall to 5% by 2030. In their place have come the renewables – wind, solar, hydroelectric and bioenergy. The breakdown for 2023, according to the National Grid, was 29.4% of the UK’s total
electricity came from wind power; 14.2% from nuclear; 5% from biomass; 4.9% from solar; with hydropower, including tidal, contributing 1.8% to the mix. Gas provided 32%, and the rest was imported via under-channel cable from France. These ratios will change. Plans are in place
to increase offshore wind output to 50GW by 2030, to which end the government is providing financial incentives and a £200m injection of cash. Solar capacity could grow to roughly 70GW in the same period. The picture elsewhere in the world, though not in the US, is similar. In its renewables mix, Britain lags Scandinavian countries – which have much hydro – and France that tends to
rely heavily on nuclear. However, the UK is nevertheless respectably placed, especially in its current and planned offshore wind generation. The outstanding global player, however, is China, which has the largest installed wind generation capacity in the world and the highest growth rate. All of this means that the lifting requirements of the power-generating sector have changed hugely. Fossil fuel requires large overhead cranes to service and replace boilers, and huge overhead cranes in turbine halls. Hydro still needs those large-capacity turbine hall cranes, with the added complications of needing to be sited within the dam and water-flow structure. But renewables in general need very different
UK energy sources, 2023 Source: National Grid
Gas, 32%
Hydropower, 1.8% Coal, 1%
Biomass, 5% Solar, 4.9%
Imports, 11.7% Wind, 29.4% Nuclear, 14.2%
32 | May 2025 |
www.hoistmagazine.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55
