Energy and living

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

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Energy storage and smart grids

A decentralized energy supply system that employs renewable resources requires the power grid to be configured differently than today’s, which is geared to a relatively small number of major power plants. In future it will be necessary to coordinate many solar, wind and biomass power plants and to calibrate their yield and load estimates sensibly. But the sun and the wind are not always available to us as an energy source. These fluctuations must be evened out by means of fast-acting temporary storage and balancing power plants. The aim is to tweak the power grid with lots of technical features to make it more intelligent. Such smart grids allow power producers and consumers to communicate and adjust to the changing supply of wind and solar power.

Projects

  • The virtual power plant – stable supply of electricity from renewable energies

    A conglomerate of many smaller power plants can replace traditional power plants. The research project Combined Power Plant 2 (Kombikraftwerk2) shows how it is possible to provide power using renewable energies both today and in the future, without increased risk of a blackout. Researchers of the Fraunhofer Institute for Wind Energy and Energy System Technology IWES in Kassel introduced the project at the Hanover Trade Fair 2013.

  • Supergrid: efficient generation, storage and distribution of electricity

    Übermorgen-Projekte

    Sun, wind, biomass, water – tomorrow’s electricity will come from many different sources and from various countries. In just a few decades, part of Europe’s electrical energy needs could be met by energy produced in northern Africa. But this will require new transmission and storage technology. In the innovative project “Supergrid,” Fraunhofer researchers are developing components and systems for the reliable generation, storage and distribution of electricity.

  • Finding reserves on the electrical grid

    Link: Bild zum Herunterladen

    The weather determines how much energy wind turbine systems provide. The same applies to power line capacity. On cold and stormy days, this capacity is higher than on days with no wind and high mid-summer temperatures. An autonomously powered sensor network monitors power lines to find the reserves in the lines.

  • Keeping the grid stable

    Wind turbines, solar parks and block-type thermal power stations are set to take over the role of conventional energy sources. In the future, as renewable and decentralized electricity production capacity expands, fluctuations in grid output will increase as well. To meet this coming challenge, experts are developing technologies for intelligent and robust power supplies.

  • Smart meters help to save money

    Smart Meter

    How can domestic electricity customers be motivated to use energy more efficiently, let alone make more efficient use of renewable sources? One possibility is to install electronic meters to measure the electricity consumed. In the RESIDENS project, scientists are examining how to get the best out of smart meters by simplifying their use.