Renewable energy can benefit grid, says report

Variable generation from renewable technologies need not compromise electricity reliability in Britain over the next 20 years, according to a report from the UK Energy Research Centre.

The report, on the costs and impacts of intermittent renewable energy on the UK’s electricity network, is the most comprehensive assessment of the evidence on intermittency ever undertaken, reviewing over 200 studies on the subject.

Among the findings are that renewable energy, such as wind power, leads to a direct reduction in carbon dioxide emissions; 100% ‘back up’ for individual renewable sources is unnecessary; and that if wind power were to supply 20% of Britain’s electricity, intermittency costs would be 0.5 - 0.8p per kilowatt an hour (p/kWh) of wind output, with the impact on electricity consumers around 0.1p p/kWh, or 1% of electricity costs.

The head of grid and technical affairs at the British Wind Energy Association, Richard Ford, welcomed the report. He said: “This report puts the final nail in the coffin of the myth that wind cannot be integrated onto our electricity network in significant quantities. There is no technical barrier to wind contributing 20% or more of our power, at a cost that is both quantifiable and reasonable.”