02/21/2023
Source: Energy & Management Powernews
In 2022, "N-ERGIE Netz GmbH" connected more power from renewables to its power grid than ever before. 20 million euros cost the associated expansion measures.
According to preliminary figures, about 6,000 plants with a capacity of about 300 MW went into operation in 2022 in the network area, as it is said on the part of N-Ergie. The installed capacity of the currently 70,000 EEG plants thus increased to more than 3,000 MW, which is roughly equivalent to the output of two nuclear power plants. The maximum required output of all private households and companies in the supply area is thus exceeded by renewables by almost three times. This is primarily due to the large number of newly constructed solar parks.
The dynamic expansion of renewables poses a major challenge for regional operators. In order to be able to absorb the steadily increasing volumes of electricity generated from renewables, for example, old lines have to be reactivated, existing lines reinforced and new substations built - and on an ever-increasing scale. N-Ergie is therefore continuously strengthening its power grid and has already planned numerous additional measures for the coming years, according to the company. Investments in the low-voltage, medium-voltage and high-voltage grids are rising steadily: In measures that explicitly serve to increase the absorption capacity for electricity from renewable energies alone, the Nuremberg-based grid operator invested more than 20 million euros, according to its own information - more than ever before.
Blackout will continue to increase
Nevertheless, grid bottlenecks are increasingly arising due to the immense expansion of renewables. N-Ergie was therefore increasingly forced to intervene in the operation of plants in 2022 in order to keep the power grid stable and prevent overloading. During generation peaks, around 2 percent of the electricity generated from renewable sources had to be curtailed.
"Despite the enormous efforts and investments, it is clearly foreseeable that bottlenecks in the grid will increase in the coming years, and with them the curtailment of renewable energies," N-Ergie said. Currently, there are inquiries for the connection of further plants with a volume of 2,100 MW. The dimension shows that renewable energies are being expanded much faster than the grid expansion can follow. While a solar park, for example, can be realized in around two years, it takes at least seven years from planning to approval to the construction of a new high-voltage line.
Better coordination, more storage
In order to ensure that as much of the renewably generated electricity as possible can be used, N-Ergie believes that two things will be crucial in the future: on the one hand, the energy transition must be coordinated more closely than before. Renewables must be expanded in a sensible ratio of photovoltaics and wind power and synchronously with the grid. New plants should therefore preferably be built where the maximum feed-in to the power grid is also possible today or in the near future.
On the other hand, additional flexibilities are needed in addition to grid expansion: In order to cushion and utilize the "midday peak" in generation that is typical in the region, grid-serving electricity storage facilities and the integration of electrolysers are important, among other things.
N-Ergie's electricity grid comprises high, medium and low-voltage lines and is around 28,000 kilometers long. It stretches from the Würzburg region in the north to Eichstätt in the south, and from Weikersheim in the west to Sulzbach-Rosenberg in the east.
Author: Günter Drewnitzky
