Grid balancing in the European electricity market

Coping with the high requirements of wind generation 

Because wind generation is only available when nature decides, it results in complex grid balancing requirements, with a significant additional cost. While the European Union is aiming at increasing the share of renewable energy sources, high unbalance prices could restrict the development of wind energy in Europe. The current state of grid balancing management in Europe is therefore discussed. A new paper from KULeuven - ESAT/Electa argues that there is a lot of potential in organising balancing across control zones. That would however require harmonisation and coordination between Transmission System Operators – a very difficult task considering the enormous variety of technology and mechanisms applied today.