UWIG Presents on Wind Integration to National Research Council
UWIG Executive Director Charlie Smith made the presentation "Integration of Wind Resources into the Grid" at the December 6 meeting of the National Research Council's project America’s Energy Future: Panel on Electric Power Generation from Renewable Energy Sources.
This panel is examining the technical potential for electric power generation with alternative sources such as wind, solar-photovoltaic, geothermal, solar-thermal, hydroelectric, biomass, and other renewable sources. The committee is also considering the broader energy applications of renewables, especially low-temperature solar applications that may reduce electricity demands. The panel is evaluating technologies based on their estimated times to initial commercial deployment and will provide the following information for each:
- Early deployment < 10 years: costs, performance, and environmental and other impacts
- 10 to 25 years: barriers, implications for costs, and R&D challenges/needs
- > 25 years: barriers and R&D challenges/needs, especially basic research needs.
The primary focus of this effort is on the quantitative characterization of technologies with early deployment. Therefore the panel is concentrating on those renewable sources that show the most promise for commercial availability within a decade. The panel will not recommend policy choices, but will assess the state of development of technologies.
In addition to a principal focus on renewable energy technologies for power generation, the panel will address the challenges of incorporating such technologies into the power grid, including potential storage needs, as well as the potential of improvements in the national electricity grid that could enable better and more extensive utilization of wind, solar-thermal, solar photovoltaics, and other renewable technologies.
Download Charlie Smith's presentation