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Renewables: common pool natural resources ‒ distributed generation in intelligent grids
Abstract and Figures
This presentation can be viewed on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rHG9LM0pV8 ]. An elaboration has been published in Renewable Sustainable Energy Reviews [also on ResearcgGate:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340724332_Distributed_energy_systems_as_common_goods_Socio-political_acceptance_of_renewables_in_intelligent_microgrids
Abstract
The current trend in our power supply system is to shift power generation towards much smaller energy conversion units: DGRS-Distributed Generation using Renewable Sources. Traditional power plants are large centralised units, primarily fuelled by coal and oil, natural gas, nuclear fission and large hydro-power stations. These are deeply institutionalized socio-technical systems (STS), but the future perspective of this STS needs upgrading, as current systems are run by "big unwieldy corporate machines" whose change is "characterized by recalcitrance and torpor" (Bakke, 2016,p.xx). The adjacent consequences of the emergence of DGRS requires far reaching reorganization of the STS, that implies significant institutional changes moving away from centralized and hierarchical management (Wolsink, 2018).
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This review describes the infrastructural elements of the socio-technical system of power supply based on renewables and the role of landscape concerns in decision-making about emerging ‘intelligent grids’. The considerable land areas required for energy infrastructure call for sizable ‘distributed generation’ close to energy consumption. Securing community acceptance of renewables’ infrastructure, perceived impacts on the community, and ‘landscape justice’ requires two types of co-production: in power supply and in making space available. With co-production, landscape issues are prominent, for some options dominant. However, ‘objectification’ of landscape, such as the use of ‘visibility’ as proxy for ‘visual impact’, is part of lingering centralised and hierarchical approaches to the deployment of renewables. Institutional tendencies of centralisation and hierarchy, in power supply management as well as in siting, should be replaced by co-production, as follows from common pool resources theory. Co-production is the key to respecting landscape values, furthering justice, and achieving community acceptance.
"Nowhere does history indulge in repetitions so often or so uniformly as in Wall Street," observed legendary speculator Jesse Livermore. History tells us that periods of major technological innovation are typically accompanied by speculative bubbles as economic agents overreact to genuine advancements in productivity. Excessive run-ups in asset prices can have important consequences for the economy as firms and investors respond to the price signals, resulting in capital misallocation. On the one hand, speculation can magnify the volatility of economic and financial variables, thus harming the welfare of those who are averse to uncertainty and fluctuations. But on the other hand, speculation can increase investment in risky ventures, thus yielding benefits to a society that suffers from an underinvestment problem.
Residential electrical demand response (DR) offers the prospect of reducing the environmental impact of electricity use, and also the supply costs. However, the relatively small loads and numerous actors imply a large effort: response ratio. Residential DR may be an essential part of future smart grids, but how viable is it in the short to medium term? This paper reviews some DR concepts, then evaluates the propositions that households in cool temperate climates will be in a position to contribute to grid flexibility within the next decade, and that that they will allow some automated load control. Examples of demand response from around the world are discussed in order to assess the main considerations for cool climates. Different tariff types and forms of control are assessed in terms of what is being asked of electricity users, with a focus on real-time pricing and direct load control in energy systems with increasingly distributed resources. The literature points to the significance of thermal loads, supply mix, demand-side infrastructure, market regulation, and the framing of risks and opportunities associated with DR. In concentrating on social aspects of residential demand response, the paper complements the body of work on technical and economic potential.
America's electrical grid, an engineering triumph of the twentieth century, is turning out to be a poor fit for the present. It's not just that the grid has grown old and is now in dire need of basic repair. Today, as we invest great hope in new energy sources — solar, wind, and other alternatives — the grid is what stands most firmly in the way of a brighter energy future. If we hope to realize this future, we need to re-imagine the grid according to twenty-first-century values. It's a project which forces visionaries to work with bureaucrats, legislators with storm-flattened communities, moneymen with hippies, and the left with the right. And though it might not yet be obvious, this revolution is already well under way.
Cultural anthropologist Gretchen Bakke unveils the many facets of America's energy infrastructure, its most dynamic moments and its most stable ones, and its essential role in personal and national life. The grid, she argues, is an essentially American artifact, one which developed with us: a product of bold expansion, the occasional foolhardy vision, some genius technologies, and constant improvisation. Most of all, her focus is on how Americans are changing the grid right now, sometimes with gumption and big dreams and sometimes with legislation or the brandishing of guns.
Distributed energy systems (DESs) on a local scale constitute a promising niche to leverage the provision of renewable energy. DESs such as micro-cogeneration and multi-energy hubs integrate renewable energy sources, small-scale combined heat/power production, various energy storage methods, and active demand-side management. Research on adopting these systems within existing neighborhood contexts remains scarce, however, particularly on the role of local actors such as local energy utilities, ownership, and the spatial scale of implementation for accelerating the adoption of DESs. In this study, we conducted a systematic review of the relevant scientific literature on the adoption and social acceptance of DESs, followed by a series of semi-structured interviews with representatives of DES pilot implementations. Our findings indicate that local co-ownership and awareness of local benefits tend to improve the acceptance of distributed energy infrastructures. The study found that established energy actors such as energy utilities and grid operators currently test DESs on a local scale in terms of the systems' technical and financial feasibilities. The study also identified major regulatory and structural barriers to DES market adoption that must be overcome to accelerate the current rate of niche development; the study thus contributes to developing DES adoption strategies. We provide future research trajectories that would address the role of spatial proximity and deployment models to attain a more dynamic understanding of the social acceptance of new energy technologies.
This bold and controversial argument shows why energy transitions are inherently complex and prolonged affairs, and how ignoring this fact raises unrealistic expectations that the United States and other global economies can be weaned quickly from a primary dependency on fossil fuels.
Energy transitions are fundamental processes behind the evolution of human societies: they both drive and are driven by technical, economic, and social changes. In a bold and provocative argument, Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects describes the history of modern society's dependence on fossil fuels and the prospects for the transition to a nonfossil world. Vaclav Smil, who has published more on various aspects of energy than any working scientist, makes it clear that this transition will not be accomplished easily, and that it cannot be accomplished within the timetables established by the Obama administration.
The book begins with a survey of the basic properties of modern energy systems. It then offers detailed explanations of universal patterns of energy transitions, the peculiarities of changing energy use in the world's leading economies, and the coming shifts from fossil fuels to renewable conversions. Specific cases of these transitions are analyzed for eight of the world's leading energy consumers. The author closes with perspectives on the nature and pace of the coming energy transition to renewable conversions.
Generation from distributed renewable energy sources is constantly increasing. Due to its volatility, the integration of this non-controllable generation poses severe challenges to the current energy system. Thus, ensuring a reliable balance of energy generation and consumption becomes increasingly demanding. In our approach to tackle these challenges, we suggest that consumers and prosumers can trade self-produced energy in a peer-to-peer fashion on microgrid energy markets. Thus, consumers and prosumers can keep profits from energy trading within their community. This provides incentives for investments in renewable generation plants and for locally balancing supply and demand. Hence, both financial as well as socio-economic incentives for the integration and expansion of locally produced renewable energy are provided. The efficient operation of these microgrid energy markets requires innovative information systems for integrating the market participants in a user-friendly and comprehensive way. To this end, we present the concept of a blockchain-based microgrid energy market without the need for central intermediaries. We derive seven market components as a framework for building efficient microgrid energy markets. Then, we evaluate the Brooklyn Microgrid project as a case study of such a market according to the required components. We show that the Brooklyn Microgrid fully satisfies three and partially fulfills an additional three of the seven components. Furthermore, the case study demonstrates that blockchains are an eligible technology to operate decentralized microgrid energy markets. However, current regulation does not allow to run local peer-to-peer energy markets in most countries and, hence, the seventh component cannot be satisfied yet.
Given the increasing penetration of renewable energy technologies as distributed generation embedded in the consumption centres, there is growing interest in energy storage systems located very close to consumers. These systems allow to increase the amount of renewable energy generation consumed locally, they provide opportunities for demand-side management and help to decarbonise the electricity, heating and transport sectors. In this paper, the authors present an interdisciplinary review of community energy storage (CES) with a focus on its potential role and challenges as a key element within the wider energy system. The discussion includes: the whole spectrum of applications and technologies with a strong emphasis on end user applications; techno-economic, environmental and social assessments of CES; and an outlook on CES from the customer, utility company and policy-maker perspectives. Currently, in general only traditional thermal storage with water tanks is economically viable. However, CES is expected to offer new opportunities for the energy transition since the community scale introduces several advantages for electrochemical technologies such as batteries. Technical and economic benefits over energy storage in single dwellings are driven by enhanced performance due to less spiky community demand profile and economies of scale respectively. In addition, CES brings new opportunities for citizen participation within communities and helps to increase awareness of energy consumption and environmental impacts.
The smart grid is conceived of as an electric grid that can deliver electricity in a controlled, smart way from points of generation to active consumers. Demand response (DR), by promoting the interaction and responsiveness of the customers, may offer a broad range of potential benefits on system operation and expansion and on market efficiency. Moreover, by improving the reliability of the power system and, in the long term, lowering peak demand, DR reduces overall plant and capital cost investments and postpones the need for network upgrades. In this paper a survey of DR potentials and benefits in smart grids is presented. Innovative enabling technologies and systems, such as smart meters, energy controllers, communication systems, decisive to facilitate the coordination of efficiency and DR in a smart grid, are described and discussed with reference to real industrial case studies and research projects.