Integration to power systems key to minimize losses as solar, wind capacities surge

Effective integration of various renewable energy sources, especially wind and power, into the system is the key to ensure minimum power losses going forward as various countries across the globe continue to add huge capacities in a bid to reduce carbon footprint, according to analysts.

China and India have been at the forefront, adding huge renewable capacities each year, with solar and wind expected to play a major role in the energy mix of these two countries by 2030.

"Effective grid integration is vital for growth of renewable energy in power markets due to the intermittent nature of wind and solar," said S&P Global Commodity Insights analyst Ankita Chauhan.

While India needs to hasten the pace of its additions to meet its targets, China has already exceeded its target of adding 1,200 GW of solar and wind capacities, six years ahead of time.

"The word 'slow' could be used anywhere else but not China," said Commodity Insights analyst Chengyao Peng. "To accommodate the ambitious renewables buildout and manage curtailment as much as possible, grid investment further accelerated, growing 23.1% year-on-year for the first eight months this year."

Variable renewable energy [VRE] such as wind and solar PV introduces supply variability depending on the weather and this will require increasing the flexibility of the entire power system, by leveraging dispatchable generation, grid enhancements, increased storage and demand response, International Energy Agency said in its latest September report.

Delaying the implementation of measures to support integration could jeopardise up to 15% of solar and wind power generation in 2030 and might likely result in up to a 20% smaller reduction of carbon dioxide [CO2] emissions in the power sector, IEA said in its report.

Intensified efforts and investments

China's capacity growth of wind and solar is expected to continue even after 2030 to address growing demand without any new coal build, reaching 62% of the energy mix by 2050, Commodity Insights said in its report earlier this year, even as fossil fuels dominate the current energy mix despite huge renewable additions.

"China has a whole drawer of flexible power program in preparation of the growing renewables in the power mix," Peng of Commodity Insights said. Apart from batteries deployment, China is also planning significant hydro pump storage systems and pricing mechanisms to support other types of storage like compressed air and fly wheel, Peng added. The country is also retrofitting its coal fleet with lower minimal stable load to ramp down as needed and has also put in place a plan to have grid-forming inverters and convertors for new wind and solar buildout, she added.

The COP28 pledge to triple global renewable capacity by 2030 suggests growth could accelerate even more than anticipated, requiring intensified efforts and investments to meet this ambitious target, IEA said.

"Should integration measures fail to be implemented in line with a scenario aligned with national climate targets, up to 2,000 terawatt-hours (TWh) of global VRE generation would be at risk by 2030, endangering achieving national energy and climate pledges," IEA said in its report.

Consequently, the share of solar and wind in the global electricity mix in 2030 would reach 30%, lower than the 35% in the case where integration measures are implemented on time, and if this decrease is compensated by increased reliance on fossil fuels, it could lead to up to a 20% smaller reduction of CO2 emissions in the power sector, IEA said.

Storage capacity additions

Meanwhile, India has set itself a huge target of adding 500 GW of renewable capacities by 2030 but has also planned to add at least 80 GW of coal-fired capacities as it seeks to meet growing demand. Indian electricity demand is forecast to rise at the rate of about 6% annually.

India plans to add about 56 GW of energy storage capacity, including battery storage of 42 GW and rest from pumped hydro by 2030, Chauhan said, adding that at current pace, the country may add about 23 GW of storage capacity by 2030, including 14 GW from battery energy storage systems and the rest from pumped storage projects.

As of June 2024, 13 GW of tenders for storage have been closed, with another 14 GW available for bidding in India, she noted.

"India plans to triple its wind and solar capacity from 132 GW in August 2024 to about 400 GW by 2030 and would require significant investments in transmission infrastructure along with adoption of energy storage," Chauhan said.

"Key challenges for renewable integration in India will be to rapidly expand the grid, while managing the supply chain and financing risks for renewable expansion as well as timely policy and market reforms and support mechanisms to offer adequate revenue opportunities for battery storage projects."