Events

Meeting a substantial share of electricity demand from renewable energy sources is now economically feasible for many countries. With drops in input prices, particularly for variable renewable energy (VRE) sources such as wind and solar, renewables have become an essential part of national energy plans and strategies. But as these sources provide an increasing share of national energy supply, they also introduce challenges for planners responsible for the reliability, adequacy and stability of power systems.
This event's objective was to help countries interested in scaling up grid-connected VRE by facilitating a knowledge exchange on how this scale-up can be achieved while meeting reliability and affordability criteria. The event looked at the benefits, costs and obstacles from the points of view of a range of stakeholders, and considered the implications of new technologies and approaches available to planners and decision-makers.

Topics included planning for adequacy and greater system flexibility; current and forth-coming technology options that facilitate power system operation at high levels of VRE; distributed generation options and issues; and implications for regulation and pricing in the context of different sector structures. Sessions covered a range of country experiences, expert presentations, and moderated debates among stakeholders.

ESMAP | Knowledge Exchange Forums | Integrating Variable Renewables