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CSTPR’s Xi Wang<\/a> was recently featured in CIRES’ Spheres science magazine on the work she did on renewable energy curtailment with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The 2014 edition focuses on Energy and the Environment.<\/p>\n Spheres, Edition 08<\/strong> In the world of electricity, generators must provide the exact amount of energy, second by second, that users demand. But some conventional power plants, fueled by coal or nuclear, cannot be turned on and off like a light switch. So when demand drops very low, instead of reducing nuclear or coal production, which can\u2019t easily drop below a certain base load, the power grid reduces production of renewable energy\u2014below the amount these sources potentially could provide.Such reductions, called curtailment, allow energy production to equal energy demand, but also permit potential energy to drift away in the wind. Xi Wang, a CIRES graduate student with the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, and her colleagues at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, recently reported on curtailment practices worldwide.<\/p>\n They found that countries interested in bolstering the re-newables industry are attempting to mitigate curtailment, because high curtailment levels discourage investors: No one wants to produce energy they can\u2019t sell.<\/p>\n Mitigation strategies vary from changes in energy markets to government incentives. \u201cIn many areas, for example, renewable energy generators now can offer bids into a wholesale electric-ity market,\u201d Wang says. \u201cIf their bid is accepted, their energy is dispatched. When renewables can bid into the market like other generation sources, they know they\u2019re competing based on market demands.\u201d In other regions, especially Europe, energy providers compensate renewable-energy producers for curtailed energy. Curtailment takes another form too: Construction of transmission lines is expensive and can lag behind construction of wind and solar farms, so at times, not all the energy from a wind or solar farm can be transported to cities. So, completing transmission projects would also help maximize renewables\u2019 potential. \u201cWe hope other regions encountering increasing curtailment can better plan by incorporating some of these successful mitigation strategies,\u201d Wang says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CSTPR’s Xi Wang was recently featured in CIRES’ Spheres science magazine on the work she did on renewable energy curtailment with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The 2014 edition focuses on Energy and the Environment. Spheres, Edition 08 Energy and … Continue reading
\nEnergy and Environment 2014<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe story “Waste Not”<\/a> is at the top of page 8.<\/em><\/p>\n