Renewables, the positive trend goes on

In a context of substantial consumption stability, the positive trend in renewables continues. Green energy sources represented between 35 and 40% of the energy produced in August. The CEO and General Manager of Terna, Luigi Ferraris highlighted this following the publication of the data on consumption by the electricity grid operator. When interviewed by Class CNBC at the Ambrosetti forum in Cernobbio, Ferraris highlighted that in the previous month, “for almost 70 hours, our demand was covered more by renewables than thermoelectric sources”. “What this means is that growth trends in the use of renewables are continuing; in August, solar-photovoltaic sources saw considerable growth, with an increase of almost 7% compared to the same month in 2018”.

Italy aims to produce 60% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. This will occur thanks to a considerable increase in solar and photovoltaic sources, with a technical definition of “distributed generation”. We should expect an increase in “prosumers” (both energy consumers and producers): a number of small plants that have started to change how the national transmission grid functions, as Ferraris explained. The CEO placed particular emphasis on one piece of data: there are now about 800,000 energy generation points, from large-scale power plants to small-scale producers with photovoltaic panels. “15 years ago we had 800 energy generation points”.

So today’s grid functions in a different way, with reversed flows. Terna is responsible for the balance between energy supply and demand, so it is following the evolution of this scenario with interest, focussing on the measurement and predictability of the behaviour of non-programmable production plants. “This entails a highly meshed grid: we need to connect more points than before in the locations generating electricity and create alternative routes between the generation points when one of them is not productive”.

“We must avail ourselves of the appropriate tools, digitize our processes and measure producers’ consumption and behaviour. We need to develop algorithms that enable us to achieve an ever more advanced level of reliability in order to anticipate the situations that occur. We need to be prepared to replace solar plants, which obviously don't work on rainy days, with storage facilities such as pumps and batteries”, said Ferraris.

The increase in electric cars means adding another, potential, generator. Ferraris noted that car batteries could now be used as energy “deposits” and therefore, “when the car is parked, it releases energy which can be released back onto the grid”. Facing a vast increase in generation points, international operators are called upon to orient themselves more “towards the byte and less towards the watt”. While no doubt highlighted by climate change, the key issue in energy transition is the management of energy peaks: Terna's experts believe that, in order to balance the intermittent production of renewable resources, storage systems (pumps and batteries) and so-called “peaker” plants are needed. The Terna CEO is nonetheless optimistic; in his view, “if atmospheric conditions remain stable, it is a reasonable expectation that in 2030 almost 100% of the energy demand throughout the day will be covered by renewable energy”.