January 31, 2008
Germany
Germany
German utilities are warning the government of bottlenecks in power transmission grids due to the difficulties of integrating higher shares of wind energy, Handelsblatt reported.
The paper cited reports on the state of transmission networks German utilities are required to submit to the German grid regulator by tomorrow.
The number of incidents has risen significantly over the past two years, the report said. Vattenfall Europe AG’s transmission unit recorded 155 days where the situation was critical on grids last year, and 28 out of 29 days so far this year.
In their reports, utilities blame changed regional patterns of power generation. The German government over the past years has promoted the integration of wind energy into transmission grids, which is generated in northern and eastern Germany, while power consumption remains centred in the industrial and densely populated areas in the west and the south.
In addition, power volumes generated by wind parks are difficult to predict and force utilities to hold back conventional power generation capacities.
German power transmission grids are operated by the transmission units of German utilities E.ON AG, RWE AG, Vattenfall Europe AG and EnBW.
The government plans to change legislation to speed up the approval of new transmission grids, Handelsblatt said.
Thomson Financial
31 January 2008
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2008/01/31/german-utilities-warn-of-power-bottlenecks-due-to-wind-integration-report/