Flexibility facilitates green transition

As the world strives towards a greener future, our approach to the composition of the contemporary, as well as prospective energy mix is evolving. The trends in energy generation are gradually shifting towards renewable solutions, emphasizing the importance and the scale of electrification. Hence, the world will require more electricity. 

Knowing that, we should ask ourselves the following questions: Is our current electricity grid ready to provide us with more energy? How can we make the system more efficient, but simultaneously more sustainable? Can both of these goals be achieved?

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Mass-scale electrification is needed

Electrification, a process of replacing technologies that use energy generated from fossil fuels with their electrical counterparts, is becoming increasingly important as a strategy for reducing CO2 emissions (Huismans, 2023). According to the International Energy Agency, in order to achieve Net Zero in 2030, the share of electricity in our energy mix has to reach more than 27% globally, entailing the annual growth rate of around 4.1% in the next couple years (Huismans, 2023). This ambitious goal can be achieved only through mass-scale electrification, especially in the heating and transportation sector. 

Undoubtedly, electrification assumes a vast surge in electricity demand, enhancing the significance of the power grid. In its current state, however, the grid is not able to accommodate the ever-growing need for electricity. The over- and under-usage, as well as increasing integration of intermittent renewables, lead to inefficiencies in the system designed for constant, stable production and consumption. 

The solution to this challenge is the expansion of the grid through adding supplementary infrastructure, i.e. cables. This is however a very lengthy, as well as costly, process, which is simply not feasible, nor achievable, in certain areas in the near future. Eventually, a need for infrastructural changes will appear, but with increased grid flexibility it could be avoided for at least some time. Greater grid flexibility is going to allow us to utilize the already existing system to its fuller capabilities, providing the additional capacity needed today.

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Flexibility facilitates green transition

Grid flexibility aims at using the grid more sustainably, specifically through the proper management of supply and demand (Hsieh and Anderson, 2017). It targets many components of the power grid, including for instance storage and consumption, that are crucial for the proper load management (Hsieh and Anderson, 2017). Such a comprehensive approach allows us to not only eliminate the inefficiencies, but also simultaneously enables the use of the grid to its full potential. 

This is possible because the grid’s capacity is based on a few hours in the year when the consumption reaches its full potential, however we do not consume the same amount of energy all the time. Unplugging some of the assets from the system during the peak times, or utilizing energy outside those hours, will have a great impact on the efficiency of the grid.

Flexibility is a necessary element of electrification, directly contributing to the energy transition. 

As electrification strives to substitute the energy generated by fossil fuels with electricity produced by renewable energy sources, the grid plays a central role in enabling such change. It has to be reiterated, however, that the grid was not made with renewables in mind - it was tailored towards stable energy generation and consumption. Renewables, such as wind and solar, are intermittent in nature, meaning they do not produce electricity in a stable, nor constant manner. To counteract the insufficiencies caused by over- and under-supply, we need to adjust our consumption patterns in order to balance the load.

Through shifting the hours of intensified use, as well as consuming the energy when too much of it is present in the system, we can improve the flexibility of the grid and contribute to the energy transition. By disconnecting an asset from the system at peak hours, or turning it on when the consumption is too low, we prevent unnecessary energy losses. This encourages further integration of renewables into the grid, contributing to their growing share in the energy mix. Furthermore, it does so in a very sustainable manner, as it utilizes what we already possess to its maximum capacity. 

An undeniable advantage of improving flexibility over constructing supplementary infrastructure short-term is that everyone can become a flexibility provider. Private houses, businesses as well as industry enterprises can all disclose their assets to put on the flexibility market. Certainly, the amount of flexibility will differ vastly between a family home and a business park, however those values will aggregate to a substantial amount over time with additional suppliers joining the market.  

Therefore, it is evident that grid flexibility is an essential part of energy transition. It addresses the challenges posed by the integration of renewable energy sources, enabling further mass-scale electrification. Flexibility paves the way for a more resilient and efficient energy system, which is crucial in the process of the transition towards a green, sustainable future. 

If you have any further questions about grids, flexibility or flexibility trading, contact us today at post@flexpartner.energy.

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References

Hsieh, E. and Anderson, R. (2017). Grid flexibility: The quiet revolution. The Electricity Journal, 30(2), pp.1–8. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tej.2017.01.009.

Huismans, M. (2023). Electrification - Energy System. [online] IEA. Available at: https://www.iea.org/energy-system/electricity/electrification [Accessed 30 Aug. 2024].