By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Thu, 2008-03-20 17:06
A detailed analysis by the Technical Research Centre of Finland
One of the major drawbacks of wind energy is that it requires extra reserve capacity to compensate for the intermittency of its power output. Opponents of wind energy even contend that it requires a 100% back up: they claim each megawatt of wind power would require a megawatt from a combined cycle power plant as a standby. A study by the Technical Research Centre of Finland has now demonstrated this last claim to be incorrect.
Size matters
The study 'Design and operation of power systems with large amounts of wind power' was commissioned by the International Energy Agency (IEA) for its Wind Implementing Agreement, and resulted in a state-of-the-art report. It shows that the amount of back up needed for wind energy varies greatly according to the systems’ characteristics. The size of the system and the correlation of wind production with peak demand are two major and decisive factors.
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By Bruno De Wachter / Published on Wed, 2007-04-11 07:30
A new report from the ACEEE
There are obvious overlaps between the results of energy efficiency programmes and peak load management. This is the case in spite of historically different objectives of both disciplines.
Energy efficiency programs primarily seek to reduce customer energy use on a permanent basis through the installation of energy-efficient technologies. That will, in most cases, have the positive side effect of reducing peak demand. This is especially the case if it concerns the energy efficiency of appliances that are typically used during periods of peak demand. A good example is the effect of energy efficient air conditioners on peak demand on a hot summer day.
At the other side, load management programs generally focus on either curtailing or shifting demand away from high cost, peak demand periods. Curtailing demand in most cases means improving energy efficiency.
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