Grid Integration

US scientists claim to have discovered a membrane which could lead to cheaper large scale flow batteries. The material is an ion-selective, aqueous-compatible polymer with intrinsic microporosity known as AquaPIM and is said to have tunable thickness and high conductivity in aqueous electrolytes.

Researchers at MIT say the immense hydropower resources of the Canadian province could be used as storage to even out the supply of intermittent renewables generation in New England and New York state.

Dutch transmission system operator Enexis is deploying 11 “e-house” substations in the northern Netherlands, where grid capacity for large scale clean energy projects is limited. The company said it will invest €43 million in the plan “to speed up the energy transition”.

JinkoSolar has announced that it will supply 300 MW of its Tiger solar panels for what it describes as an ultra-high voltage demonstration plant in China’s Qinghai’s province. The project will be connected to an ultra-high voltage power line that State Grid Corp. of China is building to connect the far northwestern part of the country to the more heavily populated eastern provinces.

Three energy associations, including Holland Solar, have asked the Dutch parliament to take action amid worsening grid connection problems for renewable energy projects in the Netherlands. According to the energy groups, around 700 MW of solar and wind projects allocated under the SDE+ incentive program could lose their payments if they miss connection deadlines.

Researchers at Denmark’s Aarhus University have created a modelling tool which they say, by taking into account weather data and the historical performance of PV installations, can precisely predict the output of a solar plant at any location. The tool, say the academics, will help with the planning of new installations and the integration of PV into energy systems.

According to a paper published by the European Network of Transmission System Operators, a significant number of grid infrastructure projects in the Ten-Year Network Development Plan 2018 have been delayed, with public opposition identified as the main hindrance.

Research by NREL and First Solar has produced highly accurate, real-time estimates of available aggregate peak power that a curtailed solar power plant can deliver to support the broader needs of the grid.

The funds will come from the Connecting Europe Facility. Around €504 million will be used for electricity infrastructure and smart grids and another €286 million will be devoted to gas. The remaining €9 million will be allocated to studies on the development of carbon dioxide transport infrastructure.

Despite recent efforts to improve the power network, in order to host more generation capacity from large-scale solar and renewables, Dutch transmission system operators TenneT and Enexis have said that there is very limited capacity for more solar in the provinces of Groningen, Drenthe and Overijssel.