Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The infrastructure for electricity generation and network investments has long-
term returns and therefore requires a stable framework. To achieve EU and Na-
tional Energy Policy objectives, a new global approach is needed in the generation,
transmission, distribution, metering, supply, and consumption of energy. It is ex-
pected that the smart grids offer great benefits to all stakeholders of the electricity
system. The grid operators can manage the network more efficiently and consum-
ers can switch from passive receiver of electricity to active participants in the
supply channel.
The projects of smart grids are not uniformly distributed in the EU. Most are in
the 15 EU member states, while other countries are still lagging behind. In addition,
most of the projects are concentrated in a few countries: Denmark, Germany, Spain,
and the UK together account about half of the total number of projects in Europe.
However, in almost all EU countries, a significant amount of investment has been
allocated to projects that aim to integrate various smart grid technologies and ap-
plications. Most of the technology is unknown, but their integration is the current
challenge.
4.4
Conclusions
Although the environmental benefits of reducing dependence on fossil fuels are
clear, the storage of large quantities of energy from RES and the small-scale produc-
tion still represent a major challenge to the stability and availability of electricity.
The main difficulty stems from the intermittent nature of RES. Although hydroelec-
tric sources offer a highly predictable supply of electricity, the availability of most
of the RES is variable. The production of energy in wind farms is characterized by
periods of high productivity followed by moments of stasis, while the performance
of photovoltaic systems is less in case of cloudy weather or at night. Research and
development activities go on and currently new methods are available to ensure the
storage of energy generated from RES with particular reference to the field of solar
thermal power that with new technology is able to operate even in the absence of
direct light, with cloudy sky, and at night. Every step forward toward technology so-
lutions that reduce the impact on the environment is of great importance, especially
for what concerns the field of RES.
The addition of large quantities of RES undoubtedly requires more investment in
smart technologies that allow for containment and a rapid and effective correction
of problems during delivery. Smart grids make it possible to integrate RES with
other electricity sources. Smart grids are bound to become increasingly important
given the increasing reliance of the world economies by electricity. Another chal-
lenge related to RES concerns the location. Those in large scale, offshore, or in
the middle of the desert are far from centers of demand, while small producers are
often located in residential areas or in low industrially exploited areas, in which the
local distribution network is not utilized for the reception and supply of electricity.
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