The Intelligent Grid and Renewable Integration

Report Overview

The modernization of electricity supply networks is overdue, with current systems becoming increasingly overloaded and having their limitations exposed. The most powerful way of upgrading the existing structure is by combining electricity supply with modern computer and communications technology to create an ‘intelligent grid’ of superior flexiblity and resilience. The integration of renewable energy technologies into the intelligent grid will define the electricity supply systems of the future.

‘The Intelligent Grid and Renewable Integration’ is a report that examines the development prospects and future potential of an intelligent grid with integrated renewable forms of electricity production. This report identifies the key components and structural concepts that comprise the grid and analyzes the platforms that will form the basis of the intelligent distribution network. This report also explores how market trends and infrastructure are influencing the development of renewable energy technologies, and identifies how renewable energy sources will be integrated into the intelligent grid. It also provides cost estimates for intelligent grid infrastructure development and compares how manufacturers are positioning new technologies in response to recent trends.

Key Findings

Creating an intelligent grid is likely to be extremely expensive. The cost of converting and upgrading the US grid into an intelligent grid has been put at $100bn to $165bn over 20 years.

In terms of overnight costs of renewable technologies and fuel cells - onshore wind is cheapest at $1,797/kW in the US, though this is still much more expensive than the cheapest base load technology - combined cycle gas turbine with an installed overnight cost of $917/kW.

In the UK, installing advanced meters in every household would probably cost $50 - $100 per household. Equipping each of those 24.7m with an intelligent meter would thus cost $1.2-$2.4bn. That would be the minimum necessary to launch an intelligent grid in the country.

In the European Union, countries are expected to need to invest M750bn over three decades in the electricity infrastructure, with roughly half of this for transmission and distribution. Within the latter, around U90bn will be invested in the transmission system and $300bn in distribution systems.

Use this report to

• Assess the potential of the intelligent grid and analyse its key concepts and components with this report’s analysis of fundamental technologies and features including an advanced metering infrastructure, visualization technology and phasor measurement units.

• Evaluate the opportunities and challenges associated with intelligent grid distribution systems by using this report’s analysis of concepts including micro grids, DC micro grids, virtual power plants and power parks.

• Identify the renewable technologies that will contribute generating capacity to the new grid, understand which technological features will constitute essential criteria for distributed generation systems and understand how renewable technologies will be effectively integrated.

• Quantify the cost and volume growth potential of infrastructure development and renewable energy generation/ distribution and examine the main drivers and resistors of the intelligent grid and renewable integration.

Explore issues including

Environmental requirements. The growth of carbon dioxide emissions globally are creating a path for lower carbon emitting power generation technologies. Recent capacity investment of wind turbines and solar photovoltaic installations is intermittent, remote from the grid and unpredictable. These distributed technologies required a more advanced grid network.

Energy efficiency. The current electrical infrastructure experiences substantial energy loss between the stages of generation, transmission and load delivery. A more efficient system is required to take advantage of the intermittent supply nature of wind and solar power – and balance these with conventional thermal generation, geothermal, hydroelectric and nuclear power.

The growth of new component markets. New technologies that utilize new energy distribution methods including:- smart meters for end user energy monitoring, HVDC cables used in long distance transmission, super conductive cabling to allow enormous volumes of energy to be transmitted, Plug-in Hybrid vehicles that can be utilized by the grid to provide power as well as draw it.


Discover

• What drivers are shaping new infrastructure development in the electricity industry?

• How will renewable energy technologies be integrated into the existing grid network?

• What are the expected costs involved in realising the intelligent grid system?

• What are the components of the intelligent grid system?

• Which types of renewable energy will be most influential in the intelligent grid system?

• Which renewable technologies will be most utilized by manufacturers in the future?

• Which emerging technologies are gaining popularity and why?