This is what's REALLY holding back wind and solar

Building solar farms and wind parks is one thing. Plugging them into the grid is another. How does our power system need to change to cope with more renewables?

Credits:
Reporter: Malte Rohwer-Kahlmann
Video Editor: Frederik Willmann
Supervising Editor: Joanna Gottschalk, Michael Trobridge, Kiyo Dörrer

We're destroying our environment at an alarming rate. But it doesn't need to be this way. Our new channel Planet A explores the shift towards an eco-friendly world — and challenges our ideas about what dealing with climate change means. We look at the big and the small: What we can do and how the system needs to change. Every Friday we'll take a truly global look at how to get us out of this mess.
#PlanetA #RenewableEnergy #Grid

Read More:
Integrating Renewable Energy Resources into the Grid:

Energy Transitions Commissions report:

Where wind power is harnessed (U.S.):

Report on Grid-Scale Storage:

Chapters:
00:00 Intro
01:13 How the grid works
02:43 More renewables, more problems
05:37 How the grid was built
07:00 What needs to happen
10:47 Conclusion

[DWPlanetA]

Would you adjust your electricity usage to the availability of renewable electricity?

[remon]

This is really an old problem that has been ignored too long. Actually incredible that people wake up now.

[huiflecha]

Yes! Thank you so much for making this video. I work for an electricity grid company for the lower voltages, so the cables that are in the streets and between neighborhood's. We also have a huge amount of work. The amount of aluminium that's going into the ground is enormous and so many more transformers are needed that need to be placed somewhere. If you're looking for a job check the jobs your grid company offers. There are also a lot of jobs for non technical people and if you are technical but don't have an electricity background there's quite often a training program so just try it. I studied architectural engineering and am now an engineer for the cables in your street.

[drdonut]

In the Netherlands, you can already get energy contracts where your price varies by the hour, and you get an app to see the prices for the day. On days with a lot of sun and wind, the price can actually get negative. This means people will automatically try to shift demand to those hours.

In case that is a lot of work: there are already systems that can connect your washing machine to your home assistant, to turn it on when the price drops below a certain level. For now, those systems still have a high degree of tinkering in them, but that will become more mainstream I hope!

[grahampalmer]

I live off-grid. Regarding the use of a washing machine for example, I only use it once my solar batteries reach a certain % level. If the weather is bad, not enough sun, then as a last resort I can use a generator to supplement my battery power. This is rarely needed though as my solar system is fairly well balanced (enough panel to battery ratio) to compensate for poor weather. If I am able to juggle when I use my power loads I'm sure everyone else can too, without too much effort on their part. Welcome to the future!

[galen__]

South Australia and Victoria, Australia, have electricity retailers that charge $0 for power use for 2 hours during 12-2pm, which is peak solar supply time. Both states have high roof top solar installation, which means the wholesale price of electricity during 12-2pm is often a negative number, so usage actually returns credit to electricity retailers during those times 😅

[xchopp]

Here's a wild idea: lay the HVDC lines along major highways, aboveground except for ramps / intersections. It will require more wire, but a lot less planning / opposition drag -- and access for maintenance is eased. Is anyone seriously going to argue "We must preserve the beauty of our concrete / asphalt highways at all costs!!"? Those who argue against new power lines on environmental grounds must be shown to have their heads up their behinds: if we don't transition quickly, their land is soon not going to look anything like it does now. We need to do this quickly.

[pyroman]

I did my batchelors thesis on this, and from what I calculated by far the biggest potential is in smart heating / cooling and in EV charging. Doing demand response with stuff like wash machines can be done, but those represent a very small percentage of total energy use, so they won't make that big of an impact. But smart heating and EV charging could potentially reduce the need for energy storage by more then 50% (I looked at it in the EU, elsewhere it may be different)

[tunganhnguyen]

From Vietnam here. We have the same problem with solar panels. The North summer is scorching, but the surplus electricity can't be brought from the south to the north, as the high voltage lines are operating at maximum capacity. We have to import electricity from China for this summer. Some rural areas have been cut electricity some times during the day for essential services.

[lxbanos]

It’s crazy this is a problem in Germany, I work on designing and building high voltage transmission lines just like this one in Texas and we are building them so fast and frequently our company can’t keep up. It makes a huge difference when you don’t have the population and the government constantly TRYING to kill the project.

[DB-ubwx]

Brilliant video, it doesn't matter how many solar panels we make or wind turbines farms we build. Until we start to fix the grid and storage issues, nothing will change or really help.

[mohd.saifullahmajid]

There are 2 types of load:
1. Base load which is consistent day & night.
2. Peak load which is dictated by consumers.

The only zero carbon energy sources that's consistent are nuclear and hydro. We can throw in biomass and biogas too, but their generating capacity aren't as high as nuclear and hydro.

Solar and wind, coupled with suitable energy storage respectively, are more suitable to cover peak load..

[tmmquovarius]

more than a decade ago, someone wrote that Montana wind alone could produce half of the US electricity need, except that half of the US had to move to Montana.

[Nachtwandler]

A friend of mine has done energy planning for a Danish municipality. Behavioural changes by consumers and fex tariffs are not part of the solution, in his opinion. I have done the maths for myself. The washing machine is the only appliance I can put off using. With 211 washes per year and a consumption of 0.37 kWh, that makes a consumption of about 79 kWh per year that I can postpone. In my case, that's a little more than 1% of my consumption. However, I have a high consumption. Today, private electricity consumption accounts for about one third of total consumption. Roughly speaking, if all Germans wash their laundry off-peak, only about 0.33 % of the peak is shifted. My friend is right. The idea sounds good in theory but is practically irrelevant.

[patricklindahl]

One thing not mentioned is what is needed to stabilize the grid. Wind turbines can't. Solar panels can't. It's big power stations that do that, like coal power plants and nuclear plants. If nothing stabilize the grid it will collapse within minutes. To move energy from one part of the country to the other the stabilizers are also needed. In Sweden a power line was built thru the country (it took only 23 years...) and can now only transport half of the planned energy, due to lack of stability.
A someone said, making electricity is like dancing tango with three participants! The producer, the consumer and the grid.

[chrisanderson]

Its not just their flakiness, renewables are also restricted by region, can't build a dam in a flat region with no water, can't build solar in a high latitude place that's dark half the year, can't build geothermal in an area where there is no easily accessible heat sources, can't build wind in a calm region. You can build a fuel based power plant (be it nuclear, gas, coal) anywhere.

[rklauco]

As I have solar on my roof, I already do hold of my laundry and dishwasher, even car charging, until I have excess. Should I have battery, I would probably be a bit less cautious, but I've learned it's not a problem at all to do this.
Now, there are even automation options, enabling you to start the wash cycle only when excess energy in the solar production exceeds specific threshold. Same for car chargers.
With smart solutions like this in every home, the load on the grid would be much more manageable.
Not everyone can afford it, though - I can say that our home energy system was not cheap - and we still don't have battery.

[philipperapaccioli]

70% of the energy we consume are hydrocarbons. Electricity only represents 30% of the energy we consume. Germany has some of the most expensive electricity in Europe in part due to having invested heavily in renewables while maintaining enough on demand electricity (coal and gas) to provide power when renewables are producing little. Consequently, Germans overwhelmingly use gas for heat and to power many of their industrial processes. Electricity is just too expensive. So Germany is reducing its carbon footprint on electricity generation which accounts for only 30% of energy used. The high cost of electricity will slow the electrification of other processes and slow the replacement of hydrocarbons which still account for 2/3 of energy used: heating, transportation, industry, agriculture.
I believe there is currently strong opposition in Germany to banning the sale of new gas and oil furnaces, and the measure is unlikely to be adopted.

[DunnickFayuro]

In some places, the consumers can allow utility company to shut down their AC and heating a few hours at a time in a rotating pattern in a given area. It barely impacts each individual home, but has a huge impact at grid scale. Enough so to make turning on peaker plants unnecessary.

[rabbit]

I'm an American living in Japan for the last 2 decades. We use our washing machine and dishwasher just before we go to bed. The machines are too noisy during the day.

I also used to work for a company called Yazaki which makes a passive solar water heater. (Japanese enjoy taking a hot bath before going to bed). It's a simple system; they installed a glass case on your roof and put in water tanks. Even in winter on a cloudy day the water gets heated. They put a pipe from the tanks and hook it into your bathtub. Flip a switch and the water fills the tub.

My father back in Wisconsin back in 1980 built a house with a passive solar system. He has a sun room next to the kitchen and living room. In winter the room provides enough heat to warm the house during the day. At night he uses a pellet oven. He only uses the furnace in the morning. He pays around $40 / mo. in winter for fuel.