Ronnie Belmans about Keeping the Balance at Tesla World 2015 Disclaimer: Neither Tesla World nor Tesla Club Belgium are affiliated with Tesla Motors

2. Keeping the balance
Ronnie Belmans
CEO of EnergyVille / Professor at University of Leuven
Executive Director of Global Smart Grid Federation
Honorary Chairman of Elia

3. The world is changing
Europe:

4. We're the first generation to feel the impact of climate
change and the last generation that can do something
about it.
Barack Obama – August 2015
The world is changing
USA: Clean Power Plan

5. Keeping the balance

6. Generation Demand
Safe System
Operation
Keeping the balance

7. Balancing the grid

8. Balancing the grid

9. Trends
Large-scale integration of Renewable Energy Sources
Large-scale integration of Distributed Energy Resources
Evolution towards smart grids

10. Demand drives generation
!
Challenges
!!!
!!!
generation drives demand
!!!
Techno-economical puzzle: coordinated grid actions with all
the players involved
Bidirectional flows

11. How to tackle these?
“ To adapt
… or to adapt ”
Hobson’s Choice

12. Sustainability
Affordability
Availability
Energy Supply
Keeping the balance

13. Flexibility is key – an opportunity!
Consumer-side Flexibility
Shiftable Demand
Generation-side Flexibility
Flexible Generation
Storage
Electricy
Heat

14. Consumer Flexibility: demand response
When large amounts of renewable energy are injected, grid
overload situations are possible
Activation of additional demand can solve thisQuote (Art. 15.8) from the European Commission Energy Efficiency Directive (2012/27/EU):
“Member states shall promote access to and participation of
Demand Response in balancing, reserves and other system services markets”
flexible
load

15. Sources of Consumer Flexibility
Residential SME & buildings Large Industry

16. +130 years ago…

17. First electric power system
1882 Pearl Street Station, NY
Coal Powered DC GeneratorDesign by Thomas Edison
Used for lighting

18. Demand = street lighting
Early Demand Side Management
Only at night
Electricity Showrooms
Public: women
Electric Household Appliances

19. Flexibility is key – an opportunity!
Consumer-side Flexibility
Shiftable Demand
Generation-side Flexibility
Flexible Generation
Storage
Electricy
Heat

20. Generation-side Flexibility
Either you start up extra
classic power stations (peak
plants)
But peak plants are hard to
keep economically viable
You can also look for
production elsewhere?

21. Energy Generation in Europe
Demand
Renewable
Energy Sources
International
connections
are called for

22. Has the current transmission grid limits?
Stretching was a succes with trains
Not so with sailing ships
So, do we go for an AC grid or a DC grid?
Stretching was a succes with trains

23. +130 years ago…

24. Which Current?

25. Thanks to AC:
Fast growing economies in US & Europe
To satisfy more demand:
Large hydro power plants
Large thermal power plants
Large load centers
Interconnected AC
Networks:
Balance the system better
Minimise reserves

26. Interconnected
AC Networks
1900191019201930

27. Interconnected AC Network
How far can we stretch the current AC Grid?
1948195619742008

28. Flexibility is key – an opportunity!
Consumer-side Flexibility
Shiftable Demand
Generation-side Flexibility
Flexible Generation
Storage
Electricy
Heat

29. Storage technologies
Mechanical
Chemical
Electrical Electrochemical
Thermal

30. Batteries
Pro:
Scalability
Efficiency
Energy Density
Mass Production
Rapidly falling costs of battery
packs for electric vehicles
Björn Nykvist and Måns Nilsson,
Nature Climate Change, 2015

32. Batteries in Practice
Transmission Grid
West Mecklenburg, Germany

33. Batteries in Practice
Wind farm optimisation
Rokkasho Futamata Wind
Farm, Japan
Transmission line
51 MW Wind Turbine
(1,5MW x 34 Units)
34 MW (245 MWh) NAS Battery

34. Battery Energy Systems in Practice
Community Energy Storage
Toronto, Canada

35. Batteries in Practice
SolarCity, Tesla Powerwall
At your home?
SolarCity, Tesla PowerwallIron Edison

36. Batteries in Practice
In your car!
Tesla Motors

37. +115 years ago…

38. Electric Vehicles New?
Fritchle Electric
1908
Detroit Electric
1910
General Vehicle Company
1912

39. Electric Vehicles New?
No gears & no
cranking
Reliable
Convenient refueling
at home
Beneficial for power
station operation
High market share in
US in 1900 (1575
electric vs. 936
gasoline cars)

40. Electric Vehicles New?
1905-1925:
combustion engine
took over:
1911 electric
starter
Abundant oil
reserves in USA
Ford Model T: 440$
1925: 4% market
share
for electric vehicle
in USA

41. Flexibility is key
Consumer-side Flexibility
Shiftable Demand
Generation-side Flexibility
Flexible Generation
Storage
Electricy
Heat

42. Back to the future: Decentralised Supply
MICROGRID
Flexible
Demand
Storage
Distributed
Generation

43. +130 years ago…

44. The first grids = microgrids
Self-contained & Isolated
Systems
Low-voltage DC power
Battery backup for:
peak power
Short-term reserve
Lead-acid

45. Why would flexibility work now?
We’ve already seen:
Demand-side management
Decentralised systems
Electrical vehicles
All devices
Communicate
With each other
Share information
Greater efficiency
Automation
Security
Comfort

46. Smart Grids & Smart Cities
End-to-end systems

47. Electric Vehicles are Helping
Environmentally Friendly
Positive Price Evolution
Smart Devices
Flexible Buffer Load
Intelligent integration of
electric vehicles is key!
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight
you, then you win.” [Mahatma Gandhi]

48. Challenges for the Smart Grid
Security
Privacy
Stable Performance
Market & Regulation
Big Data
Keeping the balance

49. What would Edison think of all this?
In discussion with Henri Ford and Harvey Firestone in the 1930’s:
“I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of
power. I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out
before we tackle that.”
Keeping the balance…
I’d put my money on the sun and solar
energy. What a source of power. I hope we
don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out
before we tackle that.”