The third report entitled “Managing Variability” was prepared by the British divisions of Greenpeace, WWF and Friends of the Earth, among other ecology groups, and dismisses variability as an obstacle to large scale deployment of wind energy. BWEA, the UK’s leading renewable energy trade association, welcomed the findings of the report, which support the conclusions of two other independent studies published recently by National Grid (“Operating the System Beyond 2020”) and Poyry (“Impact of Intermittency: How wind variability could change the shape of the British and Irish electricity markets").
As strong evidence accumulated from grid operators across Europe that it is within existing technical capabilities to manage input from wind farms in real time, “Managing Variability” noted that “thermal plant breakdowns generally pose more of a threat to the stability of electricity networks than the relatively benign variations in the output of wind plant.” The report also noted that “contributions of up to 40% or more of electricity consumption can be managed with quantifiable – and modest - 'variability costs'.”
Maria McCaffery, BWEA Chief Executive, said: “For some years now BWEA has been saying that managing variability is neither a major technological challenge, nor is it set to significantly impact consumer bills. In fact, added renewable energy capacity on the system will ensure against fossil fuel price volatility.”
The report quantified the total costs of variability to the electricity consumer at just £2 per MWh or 2% on electricity bills at penetration levels of 20%, with cost at £5 to £7 per MWh at deployment levels of 40%. The report also looks at further mitigating these costs by having increased demand-side management, as well as smart and super grid integration.
“This report is the final nail in the coffin of the myth of intermittency. We now need to move on and do more to have increased amounts of wind energy on the system, in as short a time as possible. As a source of energy wind is free and manageable. Integration costs will be more then offset by insuring ourselves from the inevitable rises in fossil fuel prices, and we could be looking at net savings as we deploy more wind,” concluded McCaffery.
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