Grid operator Elia warns of solar power surplus already in spring
Belgian high-voltage grid operator Elia has on Friday called on the market to be vigilant about solar power surplus. Last year, it launched this warning at the start of summer in June, but this year already in April. Elia is already noticing possible challenges in spring, if there would be unexpectedly much sun and little consumption.
That the warning comes earlier this year is mainly due to the increased capacity of solar power. The solar panels currently installed in Belgium have a total theoretical capacity of 11.4 gigawatts. At peak times, depending on technical limitations, these can produce up to 9 gigawatts of power. In one year, the capacity in Belgium increased by 1.4 megawatts and by as much as 4 gigawatts in two years - which corresponds to several nuclear power plants.
“As a result, the slightest deviation from the weather forecasts immediately has a major impact on the balance between supply and demand,” Elia explained. “This can cause negative prices, and if the imbalance lasts longer, it can result in a frequency increase in Belgium and neighbouring countries.” If the frequency of the high-voltage grid (50 hertz) deviates too much, there is a risk of blackouts.
"The slightest deviation from the weather forecasts immediately has a major impact on the balance between supply and demand"
There are, however, several means of maintaining balance on the grid. In the first instance, the big players on the market are responsible for this themselves, for instance by switching off production or activating consumption in case of excess capacity. Possible negative prices on the imbalance market help to encourage such interventions. In fact, due to the abundance of sunlight, there were already negative prices in recent days.
If that proved insufficient, Elia itself could also intervene. The grid operator can, for instance, switch off large offshore wind farms, call on grid operators in neighbouring countries to export additional electricity or, in exceptional circumstances, switch off large solar or wind farms on land.
Increasingly common
Electricity grid saturation will become increasingly common in the future, Elia stressed. "It is therefore important to activate sufficient flexibility in the system. That will help us cope with sudden phenomena, when weather forecasts are wrong, for example, but also to deal with periods of low consumption and large production, currently mainly on sunny days during spring and summer.”
"It is important to activate sufficient flexibility in the system"
Elia is also looking at the end user. They could switch to dynamic electricity contracts, with hourly rates. “A dynamic contract rewards consumers who adjust their consumption according to the availability of (cheap) renewable energy, but controlling solar panels at such times can also offer opportunities,” declared Elia. For now, such contracts are in Belgium only possible in Flanders - a digital meter is required - and, at a few thousand, are still a marginal phenomenon.
Installation of solar panels on the Berlaymont building, headquarters of the European Commission © BELGA PHOTO Bogdan Hoyaux / HANS LUCAS COLLECTION
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