By Fernando Nuno / Published on Tue, 2010-01-12 15:46
The European power system has changed considerably in the last 15 years. The liberalisation and unbundling of the electricity market has led to increased international power flows and reduced influence of the system operators. Meanwhile, renewable and other small-scale uncontrolled and variable energy sources are being installed in the system.
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Tue, 2010-01-12 15:01
The European power system has changed considerably in the last 15 years. The liberalisation and unbundling of the electricity market has led to increased international power flows and reduced influence of the system operators. Meanwhile, renewable and other small-scale uncontrolled and variable energy sources are being installed in the system.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Tue, 2009-08-18 05:30
A concept often causing confusion
The 'smart grid' is commonly presented as an indispensable part of the future power system. It is claimed that a true liberalised electricity market with a high penetration of distributed generation will only be able to supply a high degree of power reliability if grids are made smart.
But what exactly is a 'smart grid'? Reading through some literature on the subject, one quickly discovers that it can mean many different things to many different people, often leading discussions to end in confusion.
A smart grid is neither a clearly defined single concept nor a single technology. Rather it is like a basket containing various combinations of balls. The context and the interpretation depend upon the user. Carnegie Mellon University recently published an article describing all of the various balls typically found in this metaphorical basket. Some of them represent innovations that are still in the development phase, while others stand for technologies which have already been applied for years.
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By Hans De Keulenaer / Published on Fri, 2009-02-13 13:46
In partnership with VEI
By T Loix, KULeuven - ESAT/ELECTA
One of the first pilot projects on micro grids with renewable energy in a residential neighbourhood was carried out in the neighbourhood Am Steinweg in Stutensee, a German village located about fifteen minutes north of the Karlsruhe.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Tue, 2009-01-06 06:30
Looking at the sunny or at the shady side?
The year 2008 was a wild ride for energy. Oil prices and the global economy were turbulent throughout the year. The sustainable energy market kept on growing, albeit at a much slower rate of growth in the final six months of the year. For many aspects of the past year, we have to wait and see how 2009 evolves before being able to judge the significance of 2008.
The following are 10 topics and trends of the energy year 2008:
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The financial crisis affecting the sustainable energy market - or not?
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High oil price volatility
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Energy efficiency a high priority for the EU
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The first implementation of the eco-design directive measures
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Mandatory energy labels for buildings established in several EU countries
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Wind turbines keep on growing in size and efficiency
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After bulk wind power, there is also bulk solar power
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Asia keeps growing fast in renewables
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Reality dawns for large-scale integration of renewables
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Microgrids are being intensively studied and tested
We invite you to take our survey and vote / comment on these trends.
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By Angelo Baggini / Published on Fri, 2008-06-27 09:00
Year: 2006
Policy Status: In force
In 2005, the UK's Department of Trade and Industry commissioned an independent report: Potential for Microgeneration Study and Analysis to scope the feasibility of the implementing policy using various generation technologies and estimate market development out to 2050.
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By Hans De Keulenaer / Published on Wed, 2008-05-14 09:23
By F J Santiago et al
Many topics are arisen nowadays in an effort to mitigate the constraints appearing on the energetic supply issue. One of them is the idea of concentrate the generation and consumption in certain areas defined as μGrids. All, reliability, quality of supply, energetic efficiency, economic profitability…, must be considered as a reality on the development of this new concept.
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By Fernando Nuno / Published on Tue, 2008-04-08 20:54
In the context of Directive on energy end-use efficiency and energy services, cogeneration and advanced technologies on energy conversion take a relevant role in the energy landscape.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2008-01-17 08:30
The NERC 2007 Long-term Reliability Assessment
Last October, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation published its '2007 Long-term Reliability Assessment'. The conclusions of this study are more than a little alarming. The North-American grid is ageing rapidly and it is no longer adequate to cope with today’s energy landscape, containing large quantities of renewable energy systems. Transmission capacity continues to lag behind demand and will need to increase by more than 10 per cent over the next 10 years. According to the Assessment, there is also the need to develop reliable storage capacity to better manage demand.
The cost of building a high capacity, integrated, and smart grid system is estimated to be $100-150 billion. However, the economic impact associated with a failing grid would quickly amount to the same order of magnitude.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2007-09-27 13:09
The mixed blessings of Distributed Generation (DG)
There are two probable paths that can lead to favouring distributed generation (DG):
- When DG is seen as an ideal in itself which we should aim at for technical and/or socio-economical reasons. The fact that many DG systems make use of renewable energy is seen as just one of the overall advantages.
- Or when the reduction of CO2 emissions is the ultimate goal. Renewable energy and cogeneration systems that reduce CO2 emissions are typically small scale, which leads automatically to a more distributed generation.
That last argument is becoming far less convincing as renewable energy farms continue to grow in size and output. The largest renewable energy plants are reaching the size of fossil fuel power plants. Texas hosts a wind farm with a capacity of 735 MW. A PV plant of 11 MW is operating in Portugal, one of 40 MW is being built in Germany, and one of 300 MW is planned in New Mexico. So to what degree generation should be distributed or centralized is a choice we have to make, even for renewables. And both concepts seem to present mixed blessings.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2007-09-27 13:09
A genuine peer-to-peer, plug-and-play subgrid
As described in a post ('Creating microgrids for connecting DG units'), microgrids can be a way to enable high penetration of Distributed Generation (DG) without the need to completely redesign the distribution grid. Microgrids can even enhance the local level of power quality thanks to DG units.
Another study by IEEE focuses on 'extended microgrids'. An extended microgrid consists of a group of radial feeders, each of which include not only loads and a generation unit, but also a storage device.
The extended microgrid is peer-to-peer; the system can continue operating with the loss of any component or generator. It is also plug-and-play; the unit can be placed at any point on the distribution grid without re-engineering.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Mon, 2007-06-25 07:30
Making use of all the benefits of Distributed Generation (DG)
Distributed Generation (DG) technologies such as photovoltaic cells, wind-power, micro-turbines and fuel cells have the potential to significantly reduce emissions and ultimately perhaps the production cost as well. Connecting them to the distribution grid however is a subject of major concern.
One way of dealing with this could be to take a systems approach, viewing the generator and the associated loads as a subsystem or ‘microgrid’ that can be separated from the main grid. Such a microgrid would operate in parallel with the grid (when connected) or in island mode (when disconnected). It would disconnect from the grid during significant events (faults, voltage collapses), providing UPS services to its loads. If desired, it could also disconnect when the quality of power from the grid fell below certain standards.
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By Hans De Keulenaer / Published on Sun, 2005-05-22 00:00
In modern distribution grids, more distributed generation technologies emerge. The most far-going implementations are ‘energy islands’ with a high degree of autonomy from the central grid. This paper considers different technological barriers that emerge with increasing penetration of such systems: power quality, control problems, safety issues, environmental aspects, the availability of primary energy resources and economic aspects.
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