EnergyIntegrating renewable and nuclear power plants into the electrical grid
“Electrical grids can work if, and only if, the amount of electricity inserted into the grid from power plants is matched, second by second, to the amount of electricity extracted from the grid by consumers.” If this does not happen there are black-outs. In order to maintain this equilibrium we must focus on two things: demand and supply of electricity into the grid. New research into sustainable energy systems focuses on integrating renewable and nuclear power plants into the electrical grid — a topic high on the agenda for scholars, industry, and policy makers.
Dr. Giorgio Locatelli, from the School of Engineeringat the University of Lincoln, U.K., has published a series of new research papers on key aspects of sustainable energy systems in the leading academic journal Energy. A Lincoln release highlightsthe main findings of the research papers.
A supply and demand problem
“Electrical grids can work if, and only if, the amount of electricity inserted into the grid from power plants is matched, second by second, to the amount of electricity extracted from the grid by consumers.” If this does not happen there are black-outs.
In order to maintain this equilibrium we must focus on two things: demand and supply of electricity into the grid. Firstly, we must predict the consumption of electricity (as has always been the case) and secondly, we must have the capability to ‘tune’ power plants to produce the exact amount of energy required. This second task is getting more difficult, especially with intermittent renewable sources such as wind and solar. Supply here is of course determined by that most notoriously unpredictable of variables: the weather.
There are two options to balance supply with demand. We can store electricity when it is produced but not needed so it can be inserted back into the grid when required, or use the electricity for other “off-grid applications” (for example, desalinating salt water to produce fresh water) in periods of low demand, such as during the night or at weekends.
Over the last decade electricity production from renewable sources has increased across the world. In Europe, where the further development of large hydroelectric plants is now limited by the shortage of new locations, solar, biomass and particularly wind farms will become more prominent in the renewable energy mix over the coming years.
The increasing penetration of variable renewable energy technologies in power provision is already raising difficult questions for the overall efficient management of electrical grids. Many of these technologies require flexible power systems that can react quickly to variability in supply and demand.
Alongside academic colleagues, I have been working to develop a new methodology to assess the economics of energy storage plants. We believe our findings have three key implications for how the energy industry adapts to this challenge.
