Whether from solar parks, wind turbines or biomass facilities, more and more of our electrical power is coming from distributed and volatile sources. Unfortunately, the availability of wind and solar energy depends on the weather and time of day. In the future, smart grids, innovative storage technologies and energy management systems will enable us to make use of renewables only when they are needed, as well as keeping the power network stable.
Last year, setting a new record, one in four kilowatt hours of electricity consumed in Germany came from wind, solar, hydropower, biogas and geothermal power plants. According to the German Energy and Water Association, a total of some 150 billion kWh were generated from renewable sources last year – and in the future, output from wind, solar, hydroelectric and biomass facilities will be even higher. Germany's federal government aims to meet some 80 percent of power needs from renewables by 2050. This presents enormous challenges for the energy industry because it is expected that electricity will be generated by many small producers rather than in huge power stations; at the same time, power supply and demand must be kept in balance at all times. Unfortunately, the wind doesn't always blow and the sun doesn't always shine when demand is highest.
»To succeed, Germany's 'Energiewende' – that is, the country's planned transition to a new energy economy – requires a smart energy system with storage facilities to compensate for fluctuations,«, says Prof. Eicke Weber, spokesman for the Fraunhofer Energy Alliance and director of the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE in Freiburg. To capitalize on the full potential of environmentally friendly and sustainable power generation from solar energy and wind power will require more effective tuning of supply and demand to each other. Smart grids and new storage technologies and systems are needed to regulate both power generation and demand. »One important aspect of this is to integrate modern information and communication technology in the power grid,« clarifies Dr. Peter Bretschneider, who coordinates the Alliance's Intelligent Energy Grids group.
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