Renewable energy vs. the electric grid - Solar, Wind and Land: Conflicts in Renewable Energy Development - page 149

operation and maintenance of electric grids. In contrast to transmission ,
which has been defined as the “movement of electricity over longer distance
at higher voltages,” 1 distribution is the “delivery of electricity at lower
voltages from high-voltage transmission lines to end users.” 2 Wind and
sunlight are intermittent energy resources—at any given location, they
vary in amount from hour to hour or even from second to second. When
wind and solar energy projects feed power onto a grid system, the variable
nature of these resources can complicate grid operators' efforts to balance
electricity supply and demand and increase the risk of disruptive blackouts
or of damaging grid overloads.
A third category of grid-related conflicts are disputes involving utilities
that have come to view renewable energy as a direct threat to their long-held
position within the electricity industry. In some markets, prices for wind-
generated electricity have dropped to such low levels that generators of
non-renewable power are having difficulty finding buyers during certain
times of the day. The growth of rooftop solar energy and “net metering”
has likewise begun to affect utilities' bottom lines and market shares in
some jurisdictions. These trends have led some utilities to begin seeking
to impede renewable energy development as a strategy for protecting their
very survival.
This chapter examines how each of these three categories of grid-
related obstacles is hindering renewable energy growth around the world.
The chapter also discusses some potential means of overcoming these
challenges, or of at least preventing them from hindering the global push
toward a more sustainable energy future.
Conflicts over expanding transmission systems to accommodate
renewable energy
Utility-scale wind and solar energy development is placing unprecedented
pressure on aging electric transmission systems across the planet. These
systems were largely designed and constructed in a different energy era—
one dominated by traditional coal-, nuclear-, or gas-fired power plants
whose energy sources were typically delivered directly to plants via pipeline,
truck or rail. Because of the nature of these conventional energy sources,
officials historically had a fair amount of flexibility when siting traditional
power plants and could put them in locations that best suited a region's or
community's energy needs.
Of course, siting wind farms and large solar energy plants inherently
involves far less flexibility than the siting of conventional power plants.
Unlike fossil fuels, wind currents and sunlight are not transportable by
rail or pipeline and generally must be converted into electricity instantane-
ously in the precise locations where they naturally occur. 3 The quality of
wind and solar resources can also vary dramatically across continents and
regions. Because of these immutable characteristics of wind and sunlight,