4.1.1 Grids, balancing through space

Balancing generation through space means exploiting the fact that weather patterns are less correlated the further away in space one is. In this module, we look at the extent to which we can use this effect to get the renewable generation time series closer to the demand time series.

Key takeaways:

  • The further away to points are from each other, the less their weather and thus renewable generation are correlated
  • Aggregating generation from many spread-out wind or solar power plants thus leads to a smoother generation time series
  • This could be taken into consideration when planning where on a continent or in a country to place new power plants
  • Exploiting this strategy requires expansion of electricity transmission, which in itself comes with challenges
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