Renewable Energy Integration

Practical Management of Variability, Uncertainty, and Flexibility in Power Grids

Lawrence E. Jones

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9780124081222
• Topic: Negocios y empresa
• Subtopic: Industria energética

Renewable Energy Integration is a ground-breaking new resource - the first to offer a distilled examination of the intricacies of integrating renewables into the power grid and electricity markets. It offers informed perspectives from internationally renowned experts on the challenges to be met and solutions based on demonstrated best practices developed by operators around the world. The book's focus on practical implementation of strategies provides real-world context for theoretical underpinnings and the development of supporting policy frameworks. The book considers a myriad of wind, solar, wave and tidal integration issues, thus ensuring that grid operators with low or high penetration of renewable generation can leverage the victories achieved by their peers. Renewable Energy Integration highlights, carefully explains, and illustrates the benefits of advanced technologies and systems for coping with variability, uncertainty, and flexibility.

• Lays out the key issues around the integration of renewables into power grids and markets, from the intricacies of operational and planning considerations, to supporting regulatory and policy frameworks
• Provides global case studies that highlight the challenges of renewables integration and present field-tested solutions
• Illustrates enabling and disruptive technologies to support the management of variability, uncertainty and flexibility

Part 1

Policy and Regulation

Outline

Chapter 1. The Journey of Reinventing the European Electricity Landscape—Challenges and Pioneers

Chapter 2. Policies for Accommodating Higher Penetration of Variable Energy Resources

Chapter 3. Harnessing and Integrating Africa's Renewable Energy Resources

Chapter 1

The Journey of Reinventing the European Electricity Landscape—Challenges and Pioneers

Helena Lindquist CEO and Founder of LightSwitch AB

Abstract

Following far-reaching policy initiatives by the European Union (EU) in 2009, electricity production from renewable energy sources is rapidly increasing as European countries are struggling to meet the targets of the European Renewable Energy Directive. Europe is vulnerable to externalities, such as the emergence of shale gas on the global energy market, which may fundamentally alter the basis for EU energy policy. Integration of renewables in European electrical power grids presents an urgent and multi-faceted challenge for policy-makers and sector stakeholders requiring coordinated measures for grid upgrades, development of grid codes and radical reform of electricity markets. Some European countries, e.g. Denmark, Germany and the UK, are in many respects frontrunners in starting the transition to a more sustainable energy system. Their experiences and examples of best practice provide important learning for other countries in Europe and the world.

Keywords

Energy; EU; Grid; Integration; Policy; Renewable

1. Background

The oil crisis of 1973 became an important wake-up call for Europe. The dependency on energy imports from OPEC countries exposed the vulnerability of the economy to external events beyond the political control of European nation-states. Increasingly, concern was also growing for the effect of the fossil-based energy system on the environment and its link to global climate change. This prompted some pioneering countries in Europe to invest in research to develop wind and solar power technologies, most notably Denmark and Germany.

In the middle of the 1980s, the European Community (now European Union (EU)) began developing policies aimed at reducing oil consumption and greenhouse gas emissions while promoting the use of renewable energy (henceforth referred to as RE) for electricity, heating/cooling, and transport. In 1997 the European Commission published a white paper calling for the community to source 12% of its total energy, including 22% of electricity from renewables, by 2010 [1]. However, these targets were nonbinding and did not give the market enough confidence to make the necessary investments. The far-reaching Renewable Energy Roadmap published by the European Commission in 2007 [2], which was later enacted in the EU climate and energy package of 2009, kick-started real growth in the RE sector, most notably in wind and solar power. The often cited 20-20-20 targets of the EU Renewable Energy Directive form the core of the legislative framework and consist of three main pillars: (1) a binding target to reduce greenhouse gas emission by 20% by 2020 based on 1990 levels; (2) a binding target to increase the amount of energy consumption originating from renewable sources to 20% by 2020; and (3) a nonbinding target to improve energy efficiency by 20% in relation to projections for 2020 [3]. The EU directive meant that the EU committed to reaching these targets as a collective. These were then divided into separate targets in National Renewable Energy Action Plans for individual member states, taking into account their respective starting points and potential. The drivers behind this significant policy initiative were not only the concern for the growing threat of climate change, but—equally important—geopolitical considerations about security of supply and the dependency of foreign imports of oil and gas, not least affecting the EU's vulnerable relationship with Russia. It should be emphasized that developments in Europe are intrinsically linked to, and preconditioned by, externalities of the globalized economy and energy system.

2. The post-2020 Europe

In its 2013 progress report [4] the EU Commission states that the Renewable Energy Directive has initially produced the desired effects in terms of stimulating RE deployment. However, the Commission expressed great concern that many key barriers to RE growth had not been removed as projected. The directive has not been implemented in full in all member states, and several states have deviated from their National Renewable Energy Action Plans, prompting the Commission to launch several infringement cases in regard to nontransposition of the directive (e.g. Austria, Finland, and Slovakia).

Approaching the target year 2020, however, the polemic discussion about the post-2020 policy framework is intensifying at all levels in European politics, among stakeholders in the power sector as well as in society at large. The European Commission has recognized that market stakeholders need clarity regarding the long-term policy framework to be able to invest in new infrastructure. However, due to the stark differences between member states in terms of their energy situation, challenges, and ambitions, it is not easy to find a solution acceptable to all parties. Arguably, the current policy design is not sufficient to significantly progress the European energy transition and target serious market failures [5].

The list of question marks and interrelated challenges shaping the developments of the energy transition is overwhelming. Around the middle of the 2010s, the following issues are dominating the debate at the macro level.

• The long-term EU RE policy is ultimately dependent on a global agreement on curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

• The role of shale gas in the global energy system (particularly in the United States and China) divides European countries. Those with serious security-of-supply issues, such as Poland, are tempted to exploit this previously inaccessible resource, thereby weakening the incentive to invest in RE and associated grid upgrades.

• The future role of nuclear power in the energy mix is another uncertain factor. Finland is constructing new nuclear reactors, while Germany has decided to phase out all nuclear production by 2022.

• The European economy is struggling to maintain growth and several countries in southern Europe have received EU emergency bailouts to avoid bankruptcy. Making the necessary investments in grid upgrades and sustained financial support to RE deployment during economic recession and growing unemployment is difficult.

3. Renewable integration in Europe: Challenges and policy responses

During the last decade the European electrical power system has undergone significant changes. Traditionally, the system was dominated by a few, often publicly owned, actors with monopoly control over both power grids and large power generation plants. Increasingly, this picture has been replaced by deregulated and unbundled markets with a large number of smaller producers and market stakeholders involved in power generation, transmission, distribution, and network development. At the same time, the share of intermittent RE, primarily wind and solar power, in the energy mix is growing quickly (Figure 1). As other RE technologies are becoming more mature, the exploitation of the vast energy potential of the oceans will also become possible through the deployment of wave, tidal, and ocean current power devices.

FIGURE 1 Gross electricity generation (GWh) from intermittent renewable energy sources in the European Union, 1990–2011. Eurostat.

Given the fragmentation of the electricity market, effective interaction and communication between grid operators and generating plants is more difficult to achieve [6]. Hence, the adaptation of technical and regulatory systems is often too slow in responding to the rapidly evolving energy sector, causing problems for market players at all levels. Efficient RE integration requires not only grid expansion and reinforcements on a grand scale, but also adaptation and reform of regulatory frameworks and market design.

3.1. Locational constraints

RE resources are not evenly distributed across the European continent. The best wind conditions are found around the British Isles and solar power is best utilize...