40 years: Renewable energy
Like any industry, the world of renewables has its own share of jargon which can be inaccessible to outsiders. Renewable energy has changed and grown dramatically in recent years. In a world awash with fake news, it has not been difficult for these people to promote and perpetuate a number of myths designed to undermine confidence in these technologies. A few of the more egregious ones are discussed in this video.
Like any industry, the world of renewables has its own share of jargon which can be inaccessible to outsiders. Renewable energy has changed and grown dramatically in recent years. In a world awash with fake news, it has not been difficult for these people to promote and perpetuate a number of myths designed to undermine confidence in these technologies. A few of the more egregious ones are discussed in this video.
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17 mins 32 secs
Like any industry, renewable energy has its share of jargon and myths. Part of the reason is the sheer complexity of modern electricity systems contrasted with the apparently simple need to provide power in a passive response to demand. In this video Colin covers all of these.
Key learning objectives:
What are electrical grids, off-grid power & smart-grids?
What is demand-side management & V2G technologies?
How do different sources of renewable energy differ in Capacity factor & efficiency?
How is the cost of energy calculated?
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The electricity grid - a system for the generation and distribution of electricity, has had a top-down structure. Large centralised power stations, originally burning coal, but more recently oil, then gas, supplemented by nuclear power stations, have been connected at very high voltage to major transmission lines. These lines terminate at grid supply points, where the voltage is reduced and the network complexity increases, in order to distribute power to individual factories, businesses and homes.
There will be a need for increasingly sophisticated control systems and algorithms coupled with real time management of demand - the “smart grid”. In addition, the grid will require increasing amounts of storage, initially for short time periods measured in hours, but ultimately for much longer. The short term storage is likely to be provided by dedicated lithium-ion battery facilities and using some of the capacity in electric vehicles (vehicle to grid or V2G). Other battery technologies, maybe forms of mechanical storage (flywheels, gravity systems and pumped water) and heat storage will be needed for longer periods, eventually complemented by hydrogen.
In developed countries there is a movement to become totally self-sufficient, generating electricity from small solar PV and wind systems and storing excess in battery banks for later use. These people are off-grid by choice.
When generation and/or storage is installed in, say, a factory or on a domestic roof, this is referred to as “behind the meter” because it is located and connected on the consumer side of the metering point. This means that, from the point of view of the electricity supplier, the demand for their power is reduced or the pattern changed due to the presence of the generation/storage. This can reduce costs for the consumer, both by replacing some imported power with locally generated, lower cost power and by shifting demand to times of day when prices may be less.
Demand side management (DSM) is a process in which a consumer changes the pattern of electricity demand. This may be in response to the price signals from the electricity market, or to provide a DSM service to the electricity system operator.
Smart grid combines storage (Dinorwig) with demand shifting (night storage heaters). The process is much more diffuse, complicated, intelligent and interconnected, but the overall aims are the same - to match generation to demand, at minimum cost. Smart appliances and smart loads can respond autonomously to signals sent over the network, distributed systems of batteries can accept and release energy as required, on a network containing increasing amounts of local, embedded generation.
The smart grid requires large electricity storage capacity when large volumes of renewable power are connected. Companies are deploying dedicated battery installations and other storage technologies are under development. The technology required to make this possible is termed V2G (vehicle to grid). It will entail automated systems that allow owners to connect their cars as active, grid connected storage devices - and be paid for the services that they provide.
With large numbers of EVs on the road, the grid will be unable to cope. That would likely be the case if every EV were charged at the same time in the early evening, when other demand peaks. But in practice, variable tariffs and smart connection technologies will mean that charging is spread throughout the day and largely done overnight when generation capacity is more than adequate, EVs will become the storage heaters of the 21st century.
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