Grids & Integration

The Australian Renewable Energy Agency has awarded AU$9.6 million in grants for five projects and seven studies into the role of distributed generation assets on the grid – and how to expand their penetration.

Indra Overland, head of the Center for Energy Research at the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs, explains how the world’s future energy landscape may include pan-regional super-grids. However, prosumer states seeking energy independence could also be in the mix. According to Overland, the two developments will go hand in hand and the balance between them will be determined by the competitiveness of storage technologies.

Extraordinary PV tenders by the federal government will provide for more growth. Market research company EuPD Research expects newly installed capacity of 4 GW in 2021. After that, however, the market could see a sharp reduction, after the 52 GW cap for solar subsidies is reached.

The planned acquisition of RWE subsidiary Innogy’s sales and network business, would make E.on the largest electricity supplier to two-thirds of Germany with a 70% market share in its distribution network. That is the finding of analysis conducted by consulting firm LBD on behalf of rival power firm Lichtblick.

The acquisition of a 4.8 MW solar plant in the Kyoto prefecture and creation of a joint venture with Japanese storage specialist Exergy are part of the group’s 2020 plan to diversify its business into renewables and acquire 1 GW of capacity in them.

The region’s climate, developing economies and demographic growth are driving increased electricity demand in the Middle East and North Africa. However, as a hub of conventional energy supply, the region has been slow to embrace PV. To capture more of the value chain and deliver the full potential of solar, there are increasing calls for distributed generation deployment to play a bigger role.

Federal and state governments need to do a whole lot more to help the transition to electric vehicles, says the senate, after poll results indicated strong popular backing for the switch from fossil fuel transport.

The Spanish government has proposed a Royal Decree with new self-consumption regulation which is expected to be approved in March or April. According to the new rules, power surpluses may be shared with other consumers or fed to the grid.

A conference in London explored the next steps for renewables in the U.K. There was widespread agreement solar has been left in the cold by a government unwilling to alter the current market dynamics.

Queensland is in line for its first community-scale battery – to be installed on Townsville’s outskirts – because of the high number of rooftop solar systems and close proximity of electricity infrastructure. The energy storage system should be operating by the end of the year.