Renewable energy sources, including hydropower, now account for around 30% of the total global installed power generating capacity, and 23% of total global electricity production. Renewables have undoubtedly become big business, reaching a record $286 Billion investment in new renewables capacity in 2015. However, the increasing share of intermittent renewables still presents a number of challenges. Generally, an energy system that lacks effective market signals to deliver back-up capacity or storage to effectively integrate the increasing share of intermittent renewables and a lack of transmission planning has repeatedly lead to regional bottlenecks or to the idling of new renewable capacity.
Questions
- What are the key learnings from large-scale integration and what are success stories to large scale renewables integration?
- What are market designs that have successfully incentivised back-up and storage capacity?
- What are the lessons learnt to ensure adequate regional planning and transmission capacities?
Background Reading
Variable renewable energy sources integration in electricity systems 2016 – How to get it right
