Austin News

Electricity from renewable sources has surpassed coal-driven power during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., Reactive Technologies Commercial Director Chris Kimmett said during a recently published Q&A.

Greater prominence of renewal resources in power generation presents independent system operators (ISO) and regional transmission organization (RTO) with certain challenges, Kimmett said.

"This has accelerated the need for ISOs and RTOs to improve their understanding of network conditions and how to manage them, given the issues that increased renewables penetration can cause for grid stability," Kimmett said. "This is particularly important for many regions in the US, especially those with 'islanded' grids in Hawaii and Texas, unconnected to any others, as well as those states that have implemented ambitious plans for carbon emissions targets or 100% renewables generation such as California or New York."

Reactive Technologies, with offices in the UK and Finland, is an innovative technology company that provides ISOs, RTOs and other grid operators with solutions aimed at accelerating the world's transition to clean energy.

Kimmett's comments were part of a Real Clear Energy Q&A published June 29, which focused on "inertia and the unintended consequences of more renewable power deployment, mainly wind and solar technologies."

"Inertia is the physical force created by large, spinning pieces of metal such as turbines in hydro, gas, coal and nuclear power plants, which act like a stabilizer for the grid and allow it to ride through short term issues," Kimmett said. "A good analogy is that it's like a steam train which once moving will carry on in the same direction without much input."

Wind, solar and other renewable energy sources are "non-synchronous" in that they don't produce inertia, meaning that worldwide power grids are dealing with falling levels of inertia that track increases in clean energy generation.

This year also has seen "substantial drops" in electricity demand, resulting in more renewable energy sources on the grid, Kimmett said.

"As demand ramps down, fossil fuel generation is often the first to drop off the grid given its high marginal cost relative to renewable sources," Kimmett said. "But due to the intermittent and non-synchronous nature of technologies like wind and solar, this shift has meant that many power grids in the US are experiencing the lowest inertia conditions they have ever experienced."

That, in turn, is posing unprecedented challenges to those who maintain power grids, Kimmett said.

"This presents regional transmission system operators with a challenge of maintaining grid stability in a situation few have experienced previously," Kimmett said.