Curtailment: An option for cost-efficient integration of variable renewable generation?. An option for cost-efficient integration of variable renewable generation?

According to European Directive 2009/28/EC, renewable energies enjoy preferential treatment in the electricity grid. However, there will be times when it is not possible to accommodate all priority dispatch generation, such as from wind and solar energy, while maintaining the safe operation of the power system. The security-based curtailment of renewables should be minimized due to European directives. This chapter analyzes the future projections of curtailment needs because of security limits as well as the economic impact of curtailment in selected EU Member States. The use of renewable curtailment not only for grid security but also for economic reasons can potentially contribute to a significant reduction of investment needs in both grid and storage extension. For that purpose, the power output of renewable energy plants would have to be limited in some hours of the year, but their energy production over the year would only decrease by a small percentage.