BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov.18
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The value from saving electricity at peak times or shifting demand from peak to off-peak times is becoming greater, Trend reports with reference to the International Energy Agency (IEA).
IEA estimates that in 2020, annual renewable energy capacity additions increased 45 percent to almost 280 GW compared with 2019, including a record-breaking 162 GW of solar PV.
“In the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 Scenario, solar PV more than quadruples to reach 630 GW by 2030. This growing share of variable renewable energy, coupled with electrification of heat and transport, increase the need for system flexibility. With some grids now almost wholly supplied by utility-scale variable renewable and residential distributed solar energy resources in the middle of the day, hourly changes in net load and the gap between minimum and peak net load are increasing,” reads the IEA report.
This means the value from saving electricity at peak times or shifting demand from peak to off-peak times is becoming greater, says the report.
“Digitally enabled energy-efficient devices and systems have a crucial role to play facilitating these savings and shifts. For example, energy efficiency is becoming more valuable when it comes to reducing peak loads in the early evening in California. As a greater amount of distributed solar energy is added with generation coming on line in the middle of the day, the drop-off in what has historically been termed a “duck curve” has steepened considerably.”
The highest net load on 13 April 2021 was 21.6 GW, at 7pm. Five hours before, the net load was at its lowest at 5.1 GW. This means a 16.6 GW ramp-up. On a similar day three years before, the difference was only 12.6 GW, meaning there has been a 32 percent increase in the ramp-up.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn