EPFL: Flexibility will be key to a large-scale rollout of solar power.
ENPNewswire-September 7, 2021--EPFL: Flexibility will be key to a large-scale rollout of solar power
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Release date- 06092021 - The successful deployment of solar power will depend on many factors, including how well grid operators are able to balance supply and demand in order to incorporate renewable energy into their low-voltage grids.
An EPFL PhD thesis looks at how power utilities can promote flexibility to achieve that goal.
The cost of solar power has declined by a factor of five in less than ten years, to an average of 6.8ct/kWh. This form of renewable energy is now cost-competitive and can be generated just about anywhere - and it's poised to play a pivotal role in the transition to a carbon-neutral society. However, one challenge still needs to be overcome: how to incorporate solar power effectively into power grids, especially low-power ones. Jordan Holweger, a PhD student at EPFL's Photovoltaics and Thin Film Electronics Laboratory, looked at how power utilities can promote flexibility in solar-power systems so that such systems can be rolled out on a large scale in low-voltage grids.
The main problem with incorporating locally generated solar power into power grids is the intermittent nature of this form of energy. On an average fall day, solar irradiance can jump by a factor of five as soon as the sun comes out, leading some solar-panel-equipped homes, which until then had been consuming energy, to suddenly start injecting it into the grid. These swings, nearly impossible to predict, can lead to power overloads, push grid voltage above their limits and provoke other grid disturbances. To help power utilities prevent these risks, Holweger looked into how flexibility could be used to balance the amount of solar power generated by a given system with the amount it consumes. He only considered distributed generation systems - as opposed to large photovoltaic plants - whose power is injected mainly into low-voltage grids.
Two possible levers
The first lever Holweger identified for improving system flexibility and mitigating the impact on power grids relates to consumer behavior. That is, how can financial incentives be used to encourage consumers to change their habits? Holweger conducted an experiment with around 600 households in the Bernese Jura, where they were offered a lower electricity rate between 11am and 3pm or based on weather forecasts. None of the homes in the...
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