30 March 2012 I had the pleasure to give a presentation on integration of renewables at the 2nd Grid Integration China week 2012.
My top 5 priority action list for improving integration of renewables looks like this:
- Incentives for a flexible energy system: Flexible thermal power plants, Flexible use of district heating, Better use of interconnectors
- Good wind power forecasts integrated in the system dispatch
- Reliable wind turbines: Grid code, Testing and certification
- New transmission grids
- Smart grids
My main point is, that the current challenges in wind power integration in China are linked to the incentives or rather the missing incentives for integration. Neither the dispatch centre nor the power producers have sufficient incentives to do an effort for integration of the electricity from wind power plants. If such incentives were put in place it would be fairly easy to make the existing system more flexible, and no new technology development is needed to ensure integration of up to at least 20 percent wind power into the electricity system. So this is my priority no 1.
If (or when!) these incentives are in place then of course it is very important to have reliable wind power prognoses in order to be able to make the right system dispatch and prepare for the use of regulating units in the operation hour. So good wind power forecast for system dispatch is my priority no 2.
Thirdly the wind farm should be able to enhance the system security, not to lower it. Therefore appropriate grid codes and certification of the wind turbines are essential for the further deployment of wind power. Luckily China recently approved good national grid codes for wind turbines, and certification has high priority.
Fourthly development of the grid is necessary to ensure a larger share of wind power and power from renewables in general. But notice that this in not the first priority. Nevertheless, grid development is a long-term discipline, so grid planning and timely development of the grid is very important, also in the short run.
Finally development of “smart grid” concepts should be promoted. The smart grid do not need to be smart-smart, but especially with focus on the demand side flexibility and the use of electricity for transport and heating require a more advanced information flow about prices to work dynamically. In the long run, the system security would need more advanced control mechanisms to ensure the dynamic security of supply.
You can download my presentation here: RE_integration_March_2012 (2.4 MB).
The presentation gives a short wrap-up of the conclusion from the two recent reports on wind power: the China Wind Energy Development Roadmap 2050, developed by Energy Research Institute and IEA, and the report on Integrated Solution Strategies, developed by SGERI and VESTAS. And a short introduction to China National Renewable Energy Centre :-).
