On Christmas Day, Polish Power Grids (PSE) turned off photovoltaic installations, as a result of which over 13,000 MWh of electricity from renewable energy sources was lost. Only in March this year. there were several such interventions regarding renewable energy. Is this a harbinger of what awaits us in the coming summer?
On March 29-01, 2004, Polskie Sieci Elektroenergetyczne (PSE), the operator of the national power grid, ordered non-market undispatch of generating units, i.e. ordered the shutdown of photovoltaic installations. On the holidays itself, i.e. March 31, a shutdown order was issued at 12:00 – 17:00 photovoltaic sources with a total installed capacity of 3,237 MW. However, on Monday, a reduction was introduced in the amount of: 1,158 MW at 11:00 – 12:00, 1937 MW at 12:00 – 13:00, 1841 MW at 13:00 – 14:00.
Why are renewable energy installations turned off by PSE?
The need to turn off photovoltaic installations results from the high generation of electricity from renewable energy sources combined with low demand (due to holidays) and the insufficiency of other measures to balance the national power system (NPS), in particular limiting the generation of conventional sources.
In such circumstances, excess energy generated by renewable energy sources, exceeding current electricity needs, cannot be used effectively.
As a result of the shutdown of photovoltaic installations, between March 29 and April 1, over 13,000 MWh of electricity from renewable energy sources was lost. It is worth knowing that this energy could easily power heat storage in district heating plants, reducing carbon dioxide emissions from coal combustion by over 5,000 tons in the case of a classic heating network – points out Dr. Kamil Kwiatkowski, director of research projects at Euros Energy.
How to solve the problem of overproduction of renewable energy?
An example of such a solution is the first PTES water storage facility in Poland installed in the “Heat Plant of the Future”* in Lidzbark Warmiński. In the case of the simplest electric charging, the wasted over 13,000 MWh of electricity would allow charging about 10 warehouses such as those in Lidzbark Warmiński.
What’s more, in the “Heating Plant of the Future” PTES is supported by heat pumps; if we also take this into account, 13,000 MWh of electricity would allow us to load 40 warehouses – he adds.
The warehouses described could be an ideal source of cheap, ecological heat for cold days. Saving every megawatt hour of zero-emission energy will soon also become important for small heating plants when they too are included in the expanded carbon trading system under the new ETS2.
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