Renewable Energy Installer REI Feb/Mar 17 | Page 2
REI – the leading magazine for the renewables sector since 2008
STA welcomes report which forecasts
renewables intermittancy costs will be low
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The STA has welcomed a report by the UK
Energy Research Centre (UKERC) which
shows the cost of integrating intermittent
renewables into the grid is low.
The UKERC report draws on a
comprehensive review of the integration
costs of variable renewables and concludes
that these costs are modest, that they need
to be understood in context and that all
technologies have a system cost.
It shows that for intermittent penetrations
of up to 20 per cent of electricity supply
most studies estimate that costs are less
than £5/MWh of intermittent output, in
some cases very substantially less.
Leonie Greene, Head of External Affairs at
the STA said: “The UKERC report is timely.
It amplifies industry calls on Government
and the regulator to accelerate opening
up UK markets for flexibility technologies,
such as storage and Demand Side
Response. This will ensure that a clean
development pathway for transport, as
well as power, remains as cheap as possible
for consumers.
“There has naturally been interest
in the cost implications of incorporating
new technologies like solar into our grids.
This report joins many others concluding
the costs of doing so are modest,
and will remain so if our system is
more flexible going forwards. Furthermore,
storage is rapidly reducing in price. Solar
boasts an extraordinary synergy
Contents
NEWS 3-6
NEWS FEATURE 9-10
But which renewables technologies will
have the most impact on the industry?
NEWS 9
STA to battle on following Budget
disappointment
OPINION 10-11
Government urged to ensure affordable
smart meter tariffs.
Plus, the 10-year rollercoaster ride for the
Photon Energy company and the solar PV
sector.
with storage and the two technologies
combined allow output to match demand
requirements exceptionally closely,
transforming integration costs into a
potential net benefit.
“This debate has contributed to some
inertia for solar power, which now cannot
access wholesale markets despite its
low cost. We now need action. There is
widespread consensus now across the
global energy sector on the direction of
travel. The quicker the UK moves to unlock
solar and flexibility markets the bigger the
potential economic wins. That applies not
only at home—UK industries will have a
tremendous advantage in what will be a
colossal world market if we move early.”
The UKERC report, based on a systematic
review of the literature on the costs
MANUFACTURER FOCUS 12-15
Award-winning SolarWATT shows why
research and safety really pay off
PRODUCTS 18-19
The best products on the renewables
market
COMMERCIAL 20-21
Major projects focusing on renewable
innovative
CASE STUDIES 22-23
Innovative projects from around the UK
COMMUNITY 24-25
Specialist support for community energy
groups arrives in Dorset
ENERGY EFFICIENCY 26-27
Students pioneer energy use
and impacts of intermittent generation,
concludes: “None of the studies reviewed in
our assessment suggest that intermittency
is a major obstacle to the integration of
renewable sources of electricity supply.
“Almost all of the literature deals with
the impacts of intermittency using a
statistical representation of the main
factors, or through simulation models
based upon statistical principles. At the
levels of penetration foreseeable in the
next 20 years, it is neither necessary nor
appropriate to allocate dedicated ‘back up’
or reserve plant to individual renewable
generators when these are integrated into
modern electricity networks. Nevertheless
additional capacity is likely to be needed.
“The primary impacts and costs
introduced through connecting increasing
amounts of intermittent supply arise from
additional system balancing actions and
the need to install or maintain capacity to
ensure reliability of supplies .
“These costs arise from the need to
schedule additional response and reserve
plant to manage unpredicted fluctuations
on the timescale from minutes to hours.
“Our analysis suggests that adding
intermittent generation to the British
electricity network will impose a capacity/
reliability cost of less than £5/MWh with
a 20 per cent penetration of intermittent
generation, with a range that starts a little
above £3/MWh.”
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