![]() While these outages were mainly caused by failures in fossil fuel infrastructure, the lesson was that an isolated grid is an insecure one. Because their grid wasn’t connected to the other states, they found it harder to buy in much-needed electric power. Demand for power skyrocketed and energy infrastructure froze, causing power outages across the state and leaving Texans shivering in their homes. To avoid regulation from Washington, Texan politicians decided not to connect their grid with others. The US regulates electricity grids which are connected to other grids. In February 2021, the US state of Texas showed what can happen when your grid is not connected. This will be made easier, it found, by the fact that India has only one grid. Similarly, a report from the Center for Social and Economic Progress, found that India needs to build transmission lines to bring solar power from the west and wind power from the south to the rest of the country. The UK’s has links to France, Belgium, Norway and the Netherlands and is building a new one to Denmark.Ĭhina has built thousands of kilometres of ultra high-voltage transmission lines to transport electricity from wind and solar farms in the west to where most people live in the east.Ī recent Princeton University report found that the US needs to double the rate at which it builds transmission lines to fulfill the potential of its Inflation Reduction Act climate legislation. Grids are linked to each other through high-voltage cables called interconnectors. So, if the UK needs to buy some electricity because the wind isn’t blowing then it can buy some from France, where there may be an excess of power. Variability can also be managed by connecting one grid to another. This is how the US stores 95% of its energy and the department for energy says it’s “vital to grid reliability”. It spins a turbine to generate electricity. It’s then released when electricity supply is low. This is where water is pumped from a lower reservoir to a higher reservoir when electricity is in abundant supply. The IEA says “a rapid scale-up is critical… to address the hour-to-hour variability of wind and solar”.Īnother way of storing electricity is pumped hydro. Currently, it has 17GW.Īccording to Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air analyst Xing Zhang, battery technology is currently “not mature enough to provide a base load of electricity to step up when needed”. The International Energy Agency estimates that the world needs 585 gigawatts of battery storage by 2030 to reach net zero by 2050. That’s how your battery-powered remote control works without relying on any power station or solar panel.ĭoing this on a large enough scale is a challenge. ![]() Part of the answer is to store the power from when the sun is shining and wind is blowing so that it can be used when they are not. With the G7 countries planning to completely decarbonise their power systems by 2035, flexible storage and grid upgrades are key. Renewables are more resilient in many ways, but raise different challenges, calling for different solutions. A mechanical failure at a conventional power plant can take a big chunk of supply offline. Supplies of fossil fuels have been disrupted by frozen pipelines, blocked canals, terminals on fire, strike action, conflict and international sanctions. The old ways were not perfect for energy security. As climate delayers love to point out, the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow. Solar panels are distributed across rooftops, while large-scale wind and solar plants are sited in windy and sunny spots, which may not be close to urban centres. In the new world of increasing renewable penetration, where and when electricity is generated shifts. Vast amounts of coal, oil and gas are transported from mine or well to power plant by road, rail, canal and sea. These are usually built close to where that electricity is needed, in cities or industrial hubs, and ramp generation up and down to meet demand. Under the old model, fossil fuels are burned in power plants. “It’s a big technical challenge,” says Montana State University electrical engineering professor Rob Maher. It means watching the weather forecast to predict when people will turn the heating on and the TV schedules for when sports fans will open the fridge for a half-time drink.Īs our sources of electricity change from fossil fuels to renewables, grid operators are changing the way they work too. That means keeping tabs on power stations, solar farms and wind turbines. Never noticed until things go wrong, grid operators around the world work second-by-second to balance demand for electricity with supply.
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