Electricity generation by intermittent sources

• Main Author: Wagner F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: EDP Sciences 2015-01-01
• Series: EPJ Web of Conferences
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/20159804006

This paper deals with the production of electricity by wind and photovoltaic (PV) power mostly in Germany. The German data of 2012 are scaled to a 100% supply of the electricity consumption by renewable sources. Wind and PV power are mixed in a ratio which minimises back-up energy. The 100%, optimal mix data are used to identify the powers to be installed, the accumulating backup and surplus energies, the size of storage to replace thermal back-up power, the possibilities of demand-side-management, and the specific CO2 production. The benefits of using an EU-wide field of renewable energies (RES) instead of the national one are quantified and the interconnection capacities specified. Finally, the costs of installing RES are discussed. The conclusion is that a 100% supply by RES may not be meaningful. Large-scale supply by RES alone has deficiencies and it will remain a major task for science and technology to either improve such a system or find a suitable replacement.