Supermoon solar eclipse: Fears over power blackout as 35,000MW of energy will be lost

Scientists are warning that the upcoming supermoon solar eclipse could bring on an energy blackout.

The UK will be hit heard by the phenomenon, with Scotland expected to lose 98% of its sunlight on March 20.

The blackout will begin in the UK at 8.45am and the maximum eclipse, when the moon is nearest the middle of the sun, will be at 9.31am.

But if the solar eclipse was not enough for you, the evening before the phenomenon will mark the Earth and Moon being as close together as they possibly can be, giving rise to a so-called Supermoon.

Fears are turning however to the consequences of the rare occurrance.

In a statement, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity said: "Under a clear morning sky on March 20, 2015, some 35,000 MW of solar energy, which is the equivalent of nearly 80 medium size conventional generation units, will gradually fade from Europe’s electrical system before being gradually re-injected: all in the space of two hours while Europeans and their offices begin a normal working week day."

The blackout will come to an end at 10.41am.

The August 1999 event was the first total eclipse since 1990 and the first seen in the UK since 1927.

Head of the HM Nautical Almanac Office Dr Steve Bell said: "The path of totality lies well to the northwest of the UK making landfall over the Faroe Islands and Svalbard as totality moves towards the North Pole.

"The UK will see this eclipse as a deep partial eclipse.

"The place that sees the deepest partial eclipse of the sun in the UK is the west coast of the Isle of Lewis close to Aird Uig.

"Here 98 per cent of the sun will be obscured at mid-eclipse at around 9:36am GMT.

"Skies will darken for any location where the maximum obscuration exceeds 95 per cent which includes north-western Scotland, the Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetland Islands."

We've created a guide telling you everything you need to know about the upcoming eclipse, which will be the biggest since August 1999.

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