How to survive this coldest winter has become a concern for more and more Europeans.
However, nothing is achieved overnight. The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the trigger for Europe's energy problems, not the root cause.
The root cause is that Europe has long been committed to reducing its dependence on fossil fuels and transitioning to clean energy, which has led to the current situation where traditional fossil fuels are being phased out too early and clean energy has not yet played a substitute role.
To alleviate the energy crisis, under the dual-carbon context, the possibility of Europe restarting traditional fossil fuels is extremely slim, and it is bound to embark on the path of improving the stability of clean energy.
The biggest problems facing this path now are twofold: the volatility of power generation at the power source and the mismatch between the power source and the load.
Impact of fluctuations in new energy power generation
Power grids in different countries and regions have one thing in common: they need to maintain a dynamic balance at all times.
The power grid is like a constantly flowing river. Unlike ordinary rivers, it needs to maintain a stable flow at different times of the year and season. Otherwise, if too much power is supplied, the load cannot absorb it, or if too little power is supplied, the load will not have enough power.
Previously, the power supply mainly relied on thermal power plants for power transmission, and we could adjust the transmission power ourselves.
As the power supply shifts from traditional fossil fuels to new energy sources such as photovoltaics, wind power, and hydropower, these resources are affected by factors such as terrain, weather, season, and day and night, exhibiting characteristics of intermittency, volatility, and randomness, which are completely beyond our control.
Therefore, without energy storage systems to regulate the relationship between new energy power plants and the power grid, the dynamic imbalance of the power grid and the power outages at the load end would have unimaginable consequences.
New energy sources are subject to weather conditions, and power supply fluctuations are significant within a single day.
The volatility of wind and solar power is measured in hours or even minutes, depending on factors such as geographical location, climate, weather, and season. In the same location, the intensity of sunlight and the strength of wind can vary significantly at different times of the day.
Meanwhile, the electricity consumption of residents and factories at the load end is independent of the power generation capacity.
To give a simple example, in a certain place, the sunlight is strong and the wind is strong at 6 a.m., but the peak electricity consumption for residents to cook and eat is still around 12 p.m.
Therefore, the power grid needs to deliver enough electricity to the end of the grid at noon. Direct supply from wind and solar power cannot achieve this. It is necessary to use energy storage systems to store the electricity generated by wind and solar power plants at 6 a.m. and distribute it into the grid at noon to deliver it to users' homes.
In other words, the energy storage system for wind and solar power plants can be tailored to specific circumstances and analyzed on a case-by-case basis. During periods of high power generation from wind farms and solar power plants, i.e. peak power output curves, the energy storage system stores electricity, while during periods of low power output, the system outputs power, thereby ensuring grid balance.
In this way, wind and solar power combined with energy storage can reduce the volatility of power generation at the power source of the wind and solar power system and improve the flexibility of grid system dispatch.
Changes in consumption patterns have led to increased power fluctuations at the load end.
In recent years, my country’s electricity consumption structure has continued to change. As of the first half of 2022, the proportion of electricity consumption in the primary and secondary industries decreased, totaling about 68%, while the proportion of electricity consumption in the tertiary industry and residential electricity consumption increased, to 17% and 15% respectively.
This data illustrates that my country's electricity consumption structure is dominated by industry, while the service sector and residential electricity consumption are developing rapidly.
As my country's industries continue to transform and upgrade, the proportion of electricity consumption in the tertiary sector and by residents will increase in the future, while the service sector and residential electricity consumption are inherently highly volatile.
Taking the seasons as an example, in the hot summer and cold winter, people use fans, air conditioners, electric heating devices and other equipment to regulate indoor temperature for a significant increase. The fluctuation of electricity consumption in the same city is very significant, and the uncertainty of the peak electricity consumption may cause huge instantaneous impacts on the power grid.
Furthermore, considering the operating hours of service industries such as hotels and restaurants, as well as residents' commuting times, the power fluctuations on the load side are extremely large.
Power grid distribution and storage can greatly alleviate the problem of power fluctuations at the load end.
Select energy storage routes according to local conditions and based on facts.
In summary, energy storage systems can greatly alleviate the problem of power fluctuations at both the power source and load sides.
There are many types of energy storage technologies, such as pumped hydro storage and electrochemical energy storage, which are suitable for different scenarios.
Electrochemical energy storage technologies such as sodium-ion batteries, lithium-ion batteries, vanadium redox flow batteries, and hydrogen fuel cells offer fast response times, diverse operating modes, and strong ability to avoid instantaneous grid impacts. They are suitable for use in conjunction with new energy power plants with large fluctuations in energy output frequency, such as wind farms and photovoltaic power plants.
Pumped hydro storage has a large capacity, long lifespan, and low cost per kilowatt-hour, making it suitable for regions with fluctuations exceeding 4 hours that require long-term energy storage. However, it has site requirements, needing to be located in mountainous or hilly areas with a certain elevation difference. Southwest my country is a suitable region for this type of energy storage.
