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Chapter 8 - Integration of Renewable Energy into Present and Future Energy Systems
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- By Ralph Sims, Pedro Mercado, Wolfram Krewitt, Gouri Bhuyan, Damian Flynn, Hannele Holttinen, Gilberto Jannuzzi, Smail Khennas, Yongqian Liu, Lars J. Nilsson, Joan Ogden, Kazuhiko Ogimoto, Mark O'Malley, Hugh Outhred, Øystein Ulleberg, Frans van Hulle, Morgan Bazilian, Milou Beerepoot, Trevor Demayo, Eleanor Denny, David Infield, Andrew Keane, Arthur Lee, Michael Milligan, Andrew Mills, Michael Power, Paul Smith, Lennart Söder, Aidan Tuohy, Falko Ueckerdt, Jingjing Zhang, Jim Skea, Kai Strunz
- Edited by Ottmar Edenhofer, Ramón Pichs-Madruga, Youba Sokona, Kristin Seyboth, Susanne Kadner, Timm Zwickel, Patrick Eickemeier, Gerrit Hansen, Steffen Schlömer, Christoph von Stechow, Patrick Matschoss
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- Book:
- Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation
- Published online:
- 05 December 2011
- Print publication:
- 21 November 2011, pp 609-706
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- Chapter
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Summary
Executive Summary
To achieve higher renewable energy (RE) shares than the low levels typically found in present energy supply systems will require additional integration efforts starting now and continuing over the longer term. These include improved understanding of the RE resource characteristics and availability, investments in enabling infrastructure and research, development and demonstrations (RD&D), modifications to institutional and governance frameworks, innovative thinking, attention to social aspects, markets and planning, and capacity building in anticipation of RE growth.
In many countries, sufficient RE resources are available for system integration to meet a major share of energy demands, either by direct input to end-use sectors or indirectly through present and future energy supply systems and energy carriers, whether for large or small communities in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) or non-OECD countries. At the same time, the characteristics of many RE resources that distinguish them from fossil fuels and nuclear systems include their natural unpredictability and variability over time scales ranging from seconds to years. These can constrain the ease of integration and result in additional system costs, particularly when reaching higher RE shares of electricity, heat or gaseous and liquid fuels.
Existing energy infrastructure, markets and other institutional arrangements may need adapting, but there are few, if any, technical limits to the planned system integration of RE technologies across the very broad range of present energy supply systems worldwide, though other barriers (e.g., economic barriers) may exist. Improved overall system efficiency and higher RE shares can be achieved by the increased integration of a portfolio of RE resources and technologies.