L R AS Published on Monday 8 October 2018 - n° 250 - Categories:various issues around PV
Energy demand in American homes is more flexible than previously thought.
For a long time, the demand for electricity was considered relatively inert, with fixed consumption at different times of the day, with a peak at the end of the day when people returned home.
Electricity companies, contractors and especially consumers now consider that
flexible demand is possible. This is what emerges from the study by Wood Mackenzie (ex-GTM). This would help inject more renewable energy into the grid.
Currently a flexibility of 37 GW is observed in the residential sector. It could reach 88 GW (twice as much) by 2023. This compares to the 1,184 GW of power plants in operation in the United States in March 2018. Some of these facilities are reserves and do not operate all the time: flexibility represents 3.1% of current production capacity and would reach 7% in 2023 (if capacity does not change). It is noted that this demand for energy is at the margin. However, it is the peaks that pose supply problems for network operators. This necessitates the construction of power plants that are only used for a limited period of time.
Wind or solar generation comes in when it might not be needed. This means that production has to be shifted, which has a considerable effect.
The evolution from 37 GW to 88 GW would come from the progressive installation of intelligent devices, domestic storage, electric vehicles... There are a few examples of this with the authorisation of the network operator in California to install batteries at the user's home which would recharge into energy during periods of negative wholesale prices. In Arizona, three awareness programmes have been launched to encourage residents to use energy at times when electricity is cheapest for air conditioners, batteries and water heaters.
Wood Mackenzie believes that these initiatives will expand over the next few years. Above all, the impact on the network will be different depending on the appliances concerned (batteries, intelligent thermostats, etc.). What is certain is that appliances and the network are changing. It will be impossible to go back.
PV Magazine of 5 October
