Best Practice Webinar: Grid practices advancing renewables-based electrification

Introduction

A renewables-based and electrified energy system is a huge milestone on the way to a full energy transformation, and the grid lies at the heart of this new energy system. However, it still needs to go through transformations of its own to enable the transmission and distribution of a quickly growing share of renewable electricity. It often seems like this process is full of hurdles, but many tested solutions are already out there. In this webinar, we shared two grid practices currently in operation that do some heavy lifting in advancing renewables-based electrification.

Grid operators from Germany and Ireland shared their experiences in expanding the capacity of the power system to incorporate more and more renewables without building additional grid infrastructure.

Irish grid operators EirGrid and SONI presented their approach to “Increasing the Rate of Change of Frequency limit to +/– 1 Hz/s”: By doubling the maximum allowable rate of change of frequency on the grid from 0.5 to 1 Herz per second, system operators EirGrid and SONI can lower the level of system inertia required to operate the system securely, thereby reducing the curtailment of renewables in Ireland and Northern Ireland. This practice won the technological category at the 2023 RGI Grid Awards as it brings a significant contribution to renewables integration into the electricity grid while reducing the need to site and build additional infrastructure.

German TSO Amprion shared their “Coordinated reactive power exchange between transmission and distribution grid” practice: Amprion embarked on a coordinated reactive power exchange with Germany’s biggest DSO E.ON. The aim of the practice is to make a joint contribution to the fundamental transformation of the energy system by quickly and cost-effectively improving voltage stability in the transmission grid.

The webinar dived into the inner workings of both practices, discussed their wider application, and provided ample time for questions from the audience.