Global renewable energy-grid project: integration of renewable energies over HVDC and centralized storage

The global challenges of energy and environment can be handled through a local, regional or even a national approach. You need a global perspective and a much broader vision, a global grid for renewable energy [GREG]. A transmission system for high voltage DC [HVDC] must be created, storage facilities serve as the majority of electrical power transport medium, GREG needed with centralized energy installed. And perhaps most importantly, a group of socio political supervision institutions of all nations of the world must network and also seamlessly manage physical grid.

The obstacles to such a global shift to technical, economic and socio-political, socio-political challenges that will be used to categorize hardest. As those demonstrated researchers at the Stanford University, that appropriate renewable energy resources are available, to the planet makes, but still need a detailed and comprehensive proposal for a global energy grid shape at: regional planners need to combine their efforts before this can be achieved. Likewise must the full and clear rules as pay I produced for a global energy grid. This would require, brings together top energy administrators at each participating nation under an umbrella organization at the United Nations.

After a brief overview of the energy sector along with political obstacles, we offer technical suggestions on how a global grid could be implemented. HVDC transmission is recommended as a clear choice for the efficient and reliable long-distance delivery of electrical energy 24.07.52. And centralized storage mega plants are proposed for the balance of supply and demand in a network mostly intermittent sources.

Economy

If we want to tackle the rapidly deteriorating climate by fossil fuel power plants, creation is critical enough grid one globally for renewable energy, in order to justify our highest priority. The United States, for example, in its highway system, sensible investing from the 1950s. The rapid growth of the US economy, centred on road transport can after the second world war directly attributable to this motorway infrastructure. Also, you can associate the "dot-com" boom of the nineteen nineties directly to the wired and wireless global electronic highway. We need not be surprised, whether our economies can afford that with GREG. We must recognize that the world economy would actually expand and are therefore stronger.

With today's sluggish economy and massive public debt it can trust for all Nations to GREG with urgency be questionable. Therefore a mixture of public and private investment would be needed to implement the project. All Nations must create an environment for renewable raw materials to develop and their respective components of the transmission network to carry responsibility and commitment. As well as motorway networks for the transportation of people and products in the creation of the national and global economies are and belong to the public, so must be the power supply for the transmission of electrical energy in the public domain. While the war machines destroy economies, GREG would create economies around the world, requires only a fraction of households now reserved for sophisticated, expensive weapons of war.

Construction requires comprehensive analysis of its socio economic benefits of global, high-voltage, high-power-grid [GREG]. Increased electrical reliability and efficiency should be included as quantifiable benefits. However, if we are to global warming and CO2 emissions, the design alternatives to thermal emission units not in monetary units, which are evaluated by a handful of bankers manipulated should the challenges then. Since GREG Eventuallfy would reduce the energy costs for all Nations, which projected cost of electricity for all consumers would decline significantly in the long run.

Public funds for GREG must be hashed in the halls of national Governments and in the boardrooms of banks of developing world out. Remember that the US interstate highway system built by a special gasoline tax was financed by a trust fund. A similar approach would be at the level of the United Nations with a global "GREG Trust Fund" built on taxes for carbon rendered content of all fossil fuels produced. Furthermore, could a small [1-2 per cent] global tax on all weapons produced is collected.

Management and regulation

The most formidable obstacles to the creation of GREG lie in the socio political sphere. But company deeply invested in the fossil energy will vote against the amendment. Top energy administrators must give priority, social responsibility, not to maximise ROI, if you plan the transition to renewable energy. Policy makers need rules based on long-term goals in the short term while acknowledging potential conflicts between the regional operators and between producers and consumers. Right-of-ways, electricity markets and prices are the varied interests of the producers, utilities, network operators and prosumer [customers with own wind and solar generators] recognition takes into account.

All countries need to establish after a domestic RE-grid, be a balance between national and global interests. Power-sharing agreements, placing the transmission interconnects, security issues and reliability issues all are important. The extent at which rich countries, developing countries will support, must also be set up. Here the basis for supervision and dispute not biased is resolution by an international panel to a particular nation as an organization of the United Nations renewable energy.

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Appropriate transfer options better integration of renewable energy grid, says NREL

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Adequate transfer--is for example to record transfer to renewable energy, building - an important part like energy storage, with the integration of renewable energy sources to the grid after Lori Bird, senior analyst with the national renewable energy laboratory (NREL).

Some of the most important areas that should keep regulators concerns with regard to the integration of renewable energies are market rules and public relations, in particular for investments, transmission, bird, said during a Feb. 10 Panels as part of the NARUC Winter Committee meetings in Washington, D.C. held, it pointed out that the European countries had problems with the acceptance of the transfer, to accept more than with renewable targets.

When discussing the importance to consider system operations, noted bird Denmark, for example, has very high penetrations of wind energy on his system and could handle it very well located. Some of it is because it's in a pool great power and has a high degree of flexibility, for example the country has access to Norway's hydropower and power cogeneration, which can be used as a form of thermal storage are used and provides additional flexibility.

In contrast Germany said with renewable integration fought has, because it, to the system and less flexible to compensate for a smaller area, bird. Also Germany has pricing no locational marginal, "So there is no financial impact for the overloading of the system", she said.

Spain, a control center for renewable energy, which is a centralized system you mentioned, "where they have a central point of contact with the operator and follow all the output from the renewable generation and they are capable of, large amounts of wind energy on your system to manage."

On grid support, note that is is in the interest of Germany, when the country witnessed a rapid rise in photovoltaics (PVs) and had to change "their grid codes, to ensure that they don't have any small photovoltaic capacity on the system to lose, if gave it a small rate change on the system" she said.

Germany had to retroactively change the inverter on the square for the PV system, she said.

"[T] hat is a lesson for other regions - which is out [questions and] understand what is required on grid support through these renewable facilities" she said.

Is a challenge for the European public engagement around electrical transmission, she said, pointing out that it much concern in terms of aesthetics and interest "when attempting to do, everyone around to handle it."

To learn a lesson from Ireland, that the land transfer at national level to reduce the amount of the necessary local permits coordinated planning and site transmission, she said.

Renewable energy represent challenges to the electrical supply such as non-availability and insecurity, bird said.

"We had always these challenges with load - load different - but the introduction of renewable energy is constantly variability creates a new challenge as well as passing generation and this is so for the grid," she said.

PV systems are subject to, for example, variability of cloud cover, but once to increase the number of PV installations and they are out on the grid, which scattered variability, she said smoothes, adding that is the same thing with wind turbines.

There are a variety of solutions for the integration of renewable energy on the grid, and there is no one, single solution, taking over a grid as each grid can own institutional characteristics, market operations, generation mix and the like, is different, she said.

It is important to check which options are the least cost for a particular grid and that may vary in the course of time, said bird, added that some changes that can be made to help, are integrating renewable of energy faster, markets and balancing over a larger geographical areas

Advanced techniques reduce uncertainty as forecast "better in the handle to get how much wind you're going to have," she noted.

Other options include better use of existing transmission capacity, underused transmission capacity is available, as well as a more flexible generation fleet are sometimes "so it considerable variation over generation sources in relation to how long it takes is up to you to start up, ramp them, what their minimum generation level, and So on, are", she said.

In addition, demand response proved, a useful tool for the integration of renewable energies, as she can help, reduce the amount of the reserves, which are needed on your system.

This article appeared originally on the GenerationHub, released with permission.

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U.S. heed lessons from Europe should renewable integration or follow the face, says NARUC expert

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In integrating renewable energy to the electric grid, the United States has a unique opportunity to assess lessons learned in Europe and not replicate the disequilibrium that has occurred overseas to consumers, power producers and capital markets, according to Jeffrey Altman, senior advisor, Finadvice GmbH.

“A new transparent, ubiquitous, reliable regulatory framework needs to be established in order to correctly build and support the nation’s developing renewable power portfolio, which ensures a long-term responsibility for the whole power system, as well as the appropriate pricing to the American consumer,” he said during a Feb. 10 panel as part of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) Winter Committee Meetings in Washington, D.C. “The net impact to the U.S. economy and its future strategic competitiveness can be significant. The U.S., therefore, needs to appropriately restructure its regulatory framework and prioritize this effort now, or face similar challenges as Europe in the future.”

Altman noted that there are several benefits of having high penetration levels of renewable energy on the grid, including the diversification of the power portfolio and lower wholesale prices.

Speaking of the European experience, he noted that due to massively subsidized feed-in tariffs, new additional capacity is driving down wholesale prices of power as renewables with lower marginal production costs than thermal plants get dispatched first.

Other benefits include reductions of greenhouse gas emissions, he said, noting that the European Union (EU) has set a target of a 20 percent reduction of greenhouse gases from 1990 levels, with a 20 percent renewable target and a 20 percent increase in energy efficiency for 2020. So far, he said, the EU is on target with most of its members.

Also a benefit is energy independence, which is critical for every country, Altman said. Employment gains, the development of more efficient renewable technologies and greater efficiency in scale and scope are also benefits stemming from higher levels of renewable energy, he said.

Unintended Consequences in Europe

Despite the benefits, there have been unintended consequences in Europe as it pertains to advancing renewable energy, including a misunderstanding of required subsidies and appropriate regulation, he said, adding that European regulators grossly underestimated the cost of subsidies and the necessary build-out requirements.

Some estimate that Germany’s feed-in tariff subsidy program, for instance, could exceed $1.3bn by the time it expires.

Many European regulatory regimes were inappropriately structured and there have been efforts to correct those by, for instance, initiating retroactive taxes or new regimes that resulted in significant value destruction to various renewable companies.

“This continued regulatory uncertainty across Europe is increasing the cost of capital for European renewable companies, which Fitch, the rating agency, recently highlighted as the most likely sector in the European energy markets to receive a downgrade in 2014,” Altman said.

The enormous amount of subsidies and the speed of build-up have created disruption to the power markets, he said, adding, “As the EU is a liberalized market, government actions regarding subsidies are currently being allowed by international law in favor of the perceived requirements of the consumer and the environment.”

For instance, wholesale prices in Germany have fallen from €90/MW to €95/MW in 2008 to €37/MW in 2013.

Altman also noted that the EU will be required to pay subsidies for the build-out and enhancements of power networks to manage the dynamic flows. Germany, he said, is planning to spend some €40bn, or around US$60bn, to reinforce the grid from where it was in 2012 to where it will be in 2023.

“You’re effectively taking all of the power … from the north and bringing it down to the south,” he said. “[That is] a huge effort and no one was ever considering those costs early on.”

In addition to that, the German government is also now — as others are starting to do — looking at ensuring capacity payments for thermal power stations that are being closed down to ensure the reliability of the grid and prevent blackouts and brownouts, he said.

Another challenge is that many European utilities underestimated the growth of renewables as well as the impact to wholesale prices in the entire system, leading to the continued build-out of thermal plants over the last decade, many of which were made obsolete, particularly with respect to natural gas-fired plants, by the end of the decade.

“As a result, the utilities had to shore up their balance sheets by undertaking large divestitures of some of their holdings, as well as reducing their operating costs,” Altman said.

Europe’s top 20 utilities that were worth around €1tr in 2008 are now less than half that amount due to the global financial crisis and other factors, including those involving renewable energy development, he said.

Another important matter that has occurred is that prices to energy users have increased significantly, as has the backlash against energy companies, he said.

In Germany, household prices have more than doubled from 18 cents/kWh in 2000 to more than 37 cents/kWh. In the United Kingdom, there has been a call to freeze prices for up to 20 months, Altman added.

Well-meaning European governments and regulators embarked upon an effort to reduce carbon emissions and “unintentional consequences resulted from those policies that were not ultimately fully vetted by industry [including] renewable companies and utilities and other stakeholders,” he said. “The results of these policies have required enormous subsidies, which have created disequilibrium and value destruction to both renewable companies and utilities via regulatory interventions.”

It is now envisioned that further subsidies will be required for emission targets, the support of thermal plants and storage, via capacity payments and a build-out of grids.

Accordingly, Altman added, those policies, combined with large subsidies “are destroying what was essentially a free market and, as such, the influence of government in the power sector will ultimately have no real market correction mechanisms as European governments capriciously determine the fuel mix, technology choice and capacity price levels with detrimental effect to the efficiency, investment and, most importantly, prices to consumers.”

Lessons Learned as the U.S. Moves Forward

In the U.S., Altman said, “now is the time to fully assess the implications of transitioning to a partial renewable portfolio and structure the appropriate regulation.”

The current U.S. net metering and regulation, which has allowed for renewables to come on the grid, does not take into consideration the future requirements of grid enhancements as well as what will be required to maintain a reliable power system, he said.

“There needs to be a well-coordinated assessment between federal and state regulators, regulated and non-regulated power producers, renewable companies, consumers and other important stakeholders to develop ubiquitous regulation,” he said. “Otherwise, the U.S. will ultimately face an analogous situation relative to Europe with balkanized energy markets.”

On whether regulators should wait for there to be overcapacity and strains on the systems to set new regulations, he said, “I suggest what we have learned from Europe, this would indeed be imprudent.”

Regulators should consider creating a new framework whereby a structure be agreed upon as to how much capacity will be allowed in each state/region over a 20-year period, looking into five-year increments with review every two years, he said. In parallel, there should also be an agreement as to how much thermal capacity will be retired during that time, whereby, collectively, an assessment will be made with respect to the mix of power production, the network upgrade costs, the overall reliability of the network and the ultimate price to consumers, he said.

Special attention should be paid to require flexibility in storage. Upon this analysis, he added, all new generation coming online should be bid at an auction to meet the lowest economic costs, highest reliability standards, as well as environmental standards, Altman said.

This article was originally published on GenerationHub and was republished with permission.

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