New analysis reveals that central power plants are no longer necessary to keep the grid going when glitches in the system arise.
Over the summer, the Danish electricity system operated for the first time without having to keep power plants running, ready to take over if glitches in the system arose.
Thus, for the majority of the month of June, electricity was supplied exclusively from sources such as solar power, wind energy and overseas connections.
According to Energinet, which has responsibility for Denmark’s electricity grid, the new practice is the result of a comprehensive analysis of the need for what is known as ‘system supporting characteristics’. The analysis has led to Energinet’s conclusion that there is no need for these services in daily operations, as the grid can cope with glitches.
-Going forward, it will only be necessary to have the central power plants operating if the grid is already weakened due to transmission lines or central components being under repair, says Anders Pallesen Jensen from Energinets Department for Energy Security.
He emphasises that the thermal power plants can still be paid by Energinet to operate during periods when repairs are being made to the grid, or if other services need to be provided to the electricity system, for example power plants that supply local areas.
-Source: The Engineer
