A flexible power grid: what is it and why do we need it?
This article was originally published on 5th October 2021 to Sintef Blog by Gerd Kjolle. Read the full article here.If we are to electrify the world in a way that is socioeconomically efficient and secure, we need a flexible power grid. But why?
In order to increase the flexibility of the power grid, we need to adopt new technologies and market solutions in the future
We may be able to achieve as much as 30% of the necessary carbon emissions cuts solely through the electrification of transport, industry and large parts of society as a whole. However, it won’t be enough to just swap petrol tanks for batteries and fossil fuels for solar, wind and hydropower. We’re also dependent on the power grid, which connects new types of electrical consumption and new renewable energy. The power grid is an enabler of the green shift, and therefore it needs to keep up with electrification developments.
A simple explanation of energy and power
When we talk about electricity, we often use the words “energy and “power”. Simply put, “energy” is the amount of electricity that passes through a transmission line over a period of time, while “power” is the amount of electricity that passes through a transmission line at once. Think of it as water passing through a hose. The energy is equivalent to how many litres you use in total, and the power is equivalent to how many litres pass through the hose at any one time. If it takes 10 minutes to water your garden with 100 litres of water, the power is relatively low, as not a lot of water (energy) is passing through the hose at once. However, if it takes 1 minute to water your garden with 100 litres of water, you use the same energy but the power is 10 times higher.
More renewable energy from intermittent sources such as the sun and wind, increased power consumption, and higher demands for power have placed new requirements on the operation of and investments in the power grid. Higher power consumption and increased peak power (the time of day when the most electricity is used at once) have started to challenge the capacity of the power grid.
