How to increse renewabe penetration?

Abstract

Flexibility in power systems refers to the ability to balance supply and demand, preserve continuity in
unforeseen conditions, and deal with supply-demand unpredictability. The new method and
management needs for providing flexibility have evolved as a result of the trend toward growing
renewable energy penetration in power systems while balancing generation uncertainty and availability.
As part of the international literature, the historical evolution of the power system flexibility idea,
flexible power system characteristics, flexibility sources, and evaluation parameters are described in this
paper. The impact of changing renewable energy sources penetration on power system transient
stability, small-signal stability, and frequency stability is reviewed, and the research findings are offered
to the researchers for further investigation. Furthermore, studies on flexibility measurement and
techniques for giving flexibility are examined.

Intro

The percentage of electricity generated by a specific resource is referred to as penetration. It can refer
to the percentage of total electricity generated versus total electricity consumed.

Renewable energy's integration into the electrical supply mix has received a lot of attention recently.
Portugal generated three-quarters of its electricity with renewable energy in the first quarter.
Meanwhile, renewables generated one-fifth of all electricity in Germany, the majority of which came
from new renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. Attendees at a recent conference in San
Francisco heard proposals for renewable energy to generate not just 100 percent of electricity, but
much more — 200 percent to 300 percent of generation — to cover the needs for heating, cooling, and
transportation as well.

Before deciding how to get where you want to go, it's usually a good idea to take stock of where you
are.

Because most new sources of renewable generation are close to the load — that is, close to where the
power is consumed — the penetration of renewable energy is frequently compared to the amount of
electricity consumed. As a result, compared to a huge, central-station, conventional power plant, there
is less electricity lost in transmission.

The data on electricity generation and consumption collected by various countries is inconsistent in
terms of whether renewable energy penetration is based on generation or consumption.
The data for this research came from the US Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration
(EIA): International Energy Statistics of Electricity Generation. The data was compiled by the EIA from
countries all over the world.

Data including Countries like:

Norway

For the past 30 years, Norway has consistently harnessed its abundant
hydroelectricity to generate nearly all of its generation for the nation of 5
million.

Since the turn of the century, Norway has been adding an increasing amount of
new renewable generation from wind and biomass. Today, non-hydro sources of
generation account for nearly 1.5 percent of Norway’s total generation.

Norway uses fossil fuels for only 3 percent of its supply.

Iceland
Iceland has produced 100 percent of its supply from renewables since 1980.
Though a much smaller country than Norway — there are only 320,000
inhabitants — the country has gone beyond Norway in adding new renewables
to a system dominated by large hydro.

Since the late 1990s, Iceland has added a growing percentage of its generation
from geothermal. In 2010, geothermal provided 26 percent of the country’s
electricity.

Portugal

Portugal has been in the news, for good reason. In 2010 and 2011 Portugal
produced  a higher percentage of their supply from renewables than even
Denmark.

The contribution of renewables to the Portuguese electricity mix varies

dramatically from one year to the next, however, because of its dependence on
large hydro.
The country has long relied on hydro for a high percentage of its generation. In
1988, large hydro generated 58 percent of supply; in 1997, 40 percent; and as
late as 2010, as much as 38 percent.

Because of its Mediterranean climate, Portugal — like neighboring Spain — is

subject to periodic droughts. These play havoc with hydroelectricity. For
example, during the drought year of 2005, hydro dams in Portugal generated
only 4.6 TWh. Whereas in the rainy year of 2010, hydro generated nearly 16
TWh — or three times as much as a dry year.

While detractors of wind and solar often point out their fluctuation, they seldom
discuss the variability of other sources of power, such as nuclear, fossil fuels, or
massive hydro.

Wind and solar power generation, on the other hand, while fluctuating, is
predictable. The data shows that hydroelectric power is far more volatile from
year to year than non-hydro renewables, with wind energy accounting for the
majority of new generation.

One of the often-overlooked renewable energy success stories is the growth of

wind energy in Portugal. The Portuguese, who number 10.6 million people, have
made significant progress in harnessing their wind resources.  Wind provided
less than 1 percent of supply in 2002, but within only one decade wind
generated nearly one-fifth of Portuguese electricity.

Biomass generated slightly more than 5 percent of supply in 2012. Solar

contributed less than 1 percent.

Denmark

In contrast to Portugal, Denmark has nearly zero hydroelectric resources.

Renewable generation in Denmark is due solely to wind energy and biomass.

Danish renewable generation demonstrates even more clearly than Portugal

that while inter-annual variability exists, it’s much less dramatic than that in
countries with a high penetration of hydro.

In 2012, renewable sources of energy provided 45 percent of the electricity

generated by 5.6 million Danes. Wind accounted for 30 percent of generation
and biomass accounted for nearly 15 percent.
This data — again — refutes a perennial myth among anti-renewables
ideologues that, somehow, Denmark really doesn’t produce a significant amount
of wind energy. It’s as if they believe the entire nation of Denmark, right and
left, windmill companies and utilities, have all conspired to “cook the books” to
show that wind turbines generate more electricity than they actually do.

Italy

Italy is the world’s tenth-largest industrial economy with 60 million inhabitants.

It consumes 285 TWh of electricity annually — as much as California.

In 1980, hydro provided as much as a quarter of Italy’s electricity generation.

By 2012, hydro’s portion of generation had dropped to 15 percent of supply, as
consumption and generation continued to grow with limited expansion of new
dams.
Since the 1960s and 1970s, Italy has produced up to 2% of its electricity from
geothermal sources.

However, from the 1980s until the mid-2000s, when more wind, biomass, and
notably solar photovoltaics (solar PV) were introduced to the system, the
penetration of all renewables has been continuously dropping.

Since the early 2000s, wind and biomass have been gradually increasing. Wind
produced roughly 5% of total supply in 2012, while biomass provided 4%.

But it's the precipitous spike in solar PV installations that has astonished energy
specialists. Solar PV power has increased from zero in 2007 to more than 6% in
2012, surpassing the percentage of supply from wind, biomass, and other
sources.

USA

The U.S. generated a higher percentage of electricity with renewables in 1983,

14.1 percent, than it has anytime since in the past 30 years.

In 2012, renewables provided 12.7 percent of total generation. Existing large

hydro accounted for three-quarters of total renewables generation, wind
contributed the bulk of the remainder.

In 2011, wind generated nearly 4 percent of supply in the U.S.

The total penetration of renewables in 2011, despite news reports about the
growth of wind and solar in absolute terms, only reached the same level of
renewables in supply as was first achieved in 1980!
Though total renewable generation has increased to more than 500 TWh in
2012 from less than 300 TWh in 1980, total generation has nearly doubled since
then, increasing from 2,300 TWh to 4,100 TWh last year. Thus, until the growth
of wind energy in 2009, the percentage of renewables in supply had been
steadily decreasing since 1983.

Conclusion

Today, some countries generate all of their electricity from renewable sources.
Hydroelectricity generates virtually all of Norway's electricity. Iceland produces
three-quarters of its electricity from hydropower and one-quarter from
geothermal energy.

Denmark and Portugal both use renewable energy to generate roughly half of
their electricity. Portugal generates one-fifth of its electricity only from wind,
whereas Denmark generates approximately one-third of its electricity solely
from wind.

Renewable energy accounts for nearly a third of Italy's and Spain's electrical
generation. Non-hydro resources provide 17% of Italy's electricity, or half of its
total renewable generation. Two-thirds of Spain's total renewable generation
comes from non-hydro sources like wind, solar, and biomass.

In France and the United States, new or non-hydro resources account for less
than 5% of total generation. Renewable energy penetration in the United States
has failed to reach levels observed thirty years ago. In France, total renewable
penetration is still far lower than it was three decades ago.

Clearly, countries can generate a large amount — if not all — of their power
with renewables if they so chose. It has never been a technological challenge.
The issue has always been a political desire for a high percentage of renewable
energy in a country's energy mix, as well as the persistent execution of policies
that work.