Technology Status - NET Nowak Energie & Technologie AG

generation. Better power quality requires technical improvements to deal
with harmonic distortion. Some of the local intermittency of an individual
renewable energy system can be compensated by a larger number of these
systems in a broader region, or by having alternative generation from other
renewable systems. Improving the usefulness of off-grid systems calls for
“hybridising” the wind machines with a more dispatchable generator or
adding energy storage in a battery.
Although solar energy has not achieved as high a level of penetration as
wind, the theoretical limits and solutions are expected to follow a similar
pattern. However, PV is expected to enter the utility market through a more
distributed model where very small systems on roof tops will be widely
spread. As most of the energy will be consumed onsite, the problems for
utilities to balance grid energy flows are likely to be manageable until very
high levels of penetration are seen.
The other renewables discussed in this book, bioenergy, small hydropower
and geothermal, do not display this problem. The reliability issue for
bioenergy and small hydropower is resource management by anticipating
times of drought, or managing bioresource materials availability.
Reducing the Cost of Policy Support for Renewables
The challenge to governments is to encourage technology progress and
market growth while minimising public costs and consumer payments. This
can be accomplished by encouraging renewables to develop those markets
in which they are most cost-effective. This development must take into
account the local, site specific renewable resource conditions and the costs
of the conventional alternatives. These should be based on the strongest
resource availability and lowest life cycle costs. Below is a general outline of
the best competitive paths for the renewable technologies described here, as
well as their most competitive niches. While this strategy may appear
obvious, it remains a good guide to avoid unnecessary costs by pursuing
markets for which the particular renewable is not close to competitiveness or
does not match local resource conditions.
● Appropriate areas for small hydropower (SHP) development exist
around the world (mountainous areas for high head plants, rivers for low
head plants and various combinations). It is typically in these areas that
small hydropower can contribute power at competitive costs, if there is
grid access or local demand. In such optimal conditions, costs can be as
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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