RENEWABLE ENERGY – CHALLENGES WITH GRID INTEGRATION
Nimish Rastogi
Business Development | Pre-Sales | Consulting | IIM-C (1 Year MBA) | Air-1 JMI Engg Entrance | Ex-Siemens
??Renewables are quite clean source of energy. Thus, rightly so they are being promoted and it is also the need of the hour. But sometimes we hear about stuff such as challenges with its electricity grid integration. We then wonder that what exactly are the issues.
Well, in this post I will try to explain these pointers in detail.
1.)????Renewables cannot provide inertia to the Grid. Now what does it mean… To simplify it let us take an example of a fault. At the time of a fault, a large amount of current flows to a certain area. Since large amount of current flows thus, large amount of power is dissipated during the fault. Now the power generation units produce a certain amount of power at a certain point in time. Now how to cater to this additional power need. Well Conventional generation units such as thermal have large rotors. These rotors provide this additional power from the kinetic energy stored in them. Since they use their kinetic energy for the same thus their frequency reduces for some time.
Renewables generation sources such as Solar parks do not have this rotating machine facility.
?Now what is the way out:
Well, the way out is that we install such free running rotating machines at several places that can take care of such a requirement. Now again the question that comes is that what is the challenge in implementing it. Well, the challenge is the financial model for the same. A lot of work and efforts are being put in and hopefully it will take a proper shape in the time to come.
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There are 2 other important reasons as well, but we generally hear about them:
2.)????Renewables cannot provide Reactive power to the grid. Reactive Power is very much needed for proper functioning and the stability of the grid. However, there is a way to overcome this, using devices such as Statcoms.
3.)????Third point is of availability. Well solar energy is available only during the sun time and not at night. But interestingly a good development is taking place on this front as well. Renewable grid is being proposed between different countries. Thus, the country having the sun can supply energy to those not having it at that time and vice-versa.
I hope I was able to clarify the topic in detail…