The Fragile Grid: The Physics and Economics of Security Services in Low-Carbon Power Systems (Slides)

Low-carbon grids are characterized by substantial renewable energy sources, both centralized and distributed, combined with intelligent and dynamic demand-side technology and multi-sector electrification (including heating, transport, and future fuels). In this context, successfully resolving the “affordability-sustainability-reliability” energy trilemma is crucial to paving the way to low-carbon energy futures. However, when looking at the “reliability” pillar of the trilemma, it becomes apparent that these transformations are of unprecedented scale and pose significant threats to operational security.
Due to changes in the physical characteristics of the system and the supply-side and demand-side resources connected to the system, low-carbon grids might be intrinsically more “fragile” and therefore both less secure and less resilient. The system’s “new physics” has a profound impact on its economics, too, in the requirements for security services and the ways they are procured, so that suitable technical, commercial, regulatory, and policy measures need to be put in place coherently.
This webinar discusses in great detail all these aspects, with several recent real-world examples from Australia, the UK, and Texas.