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Investigation of Future Capabilities of Renewable Energy Systems

Exploring scenarios for the future of the energy market.

Project leader

Laura Brown

Dates

July to December 2019

Project staff

Dr Damian Giaouris, Dr David Greenwood, Dr Peter Davison, Dr Haris Patsios

Sponsors

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Ltd

Description

We are increasing our understanding of how the evolution of the energy market will affect:

  • grid stability issues
  • services requested by Transmission Systems Operators (TSOs) and Distribution Network operators (DNOs)

This will allow us to assess the technical capabilities for Renewable Energy Systems (RES) to meet these challenges.

We will investigate the technical aspects of the electricity grid and the integration of RES systems. We will study three market regions: UK, Germany and USA.

The electricity grid and RES in the UK

The first phase of the project will investigate the situation in the UK.

We will start by carrying out a research review. This will establish the current technical requirements of the UK system as a starting point. We will investigate the role of leading market-ready technologies in the system. This will include energy storage as well as other upcoming technologies in the generation mix.

We will then investigate the changes planned in the near term, in the next RIIO1 electricity and gas reviews. We will also explore the broader renewable targets and power generation plan for the UK in the next 20 years. We will assess the impact these changes within the power and gas grid will have on the integration of RES.

Finally, we will investigate the technologies that can play a part in this future system. We will identify the role each will play.

The energy markets in Germany and the USA

In the second phase of the project, we will extend the investigation. We will study the impact of changes within two other energy market areas: Germany and the USA. This phase is optional, based on the results of the first phase.