Renewable Energy Sources (RES) have drawn significant attention in the past years to make the transition towards low carbon emissions. On the one hand, the intermittent nature of RES, resulting in variable power generation, hinders their high-level penetration in the power system. On the other hand, RES can aid not only to supply much more eco-friendly energy but also it allows the power system to enhance its stability by ancillary service provision. This article reviews the challenges related to the most intermittent RES utilised in Belgium, that is, wind energy and solar energy. Additionally, wind speed and solar irradiance variations, which are the cause of wind and solar intermittency, are studied. Then, recent techniques to forecast their changes, and approaches to accommodate or mitigate their impacts on the power system, are discussed. Finally, the latest statistics and future situation of RES in the Belgian power system are evaluated.
As the share of renewable energy sources increases, the grid frequency becomes more unstable. Therefore, grid balancing services will become more important in the future. Dedicated devices can be installed close to the point where offshore wind farms are connected to the transmission grid on land. There, it can be used to attenuate power variations, reduce congestion and offer grid balancing. These ancillary services can create significant economic revenue. In this paper, the provision of the primary reserve by means of a large hydrogen electrolyser of 25 MW is investigated for the specific case of the Belgian transmission system. The electrolyser is used to convert water and excess power to hydrogen gas, which is injected into the natural gas grid. The revenue for primary reserve (R1) provision is analysed on a techno-economic model, including capital costs, operational costs, the revenue of the generated hydrogen and oxygen products and the ancillary service income. The revenue depends strongly on the contracted power-band. Therefore, it is optimised to yield maximum revenue. The results show that providing R1 creates a considerable revenue. Therefore, a large electrolyser can be a good candidate to buffer excess renewable energy into green gas while simultaneously providing grid support.
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