Renewable energy sources, at least wind and solar, are variable ? the wind isn’t always blowing, the sun isn’t always shining. This is something every glib(軽薄な) pundit(批評家) on the internet cites as a reason(as a reason:というのも，位？) we’ll need fossil-fuel(fossil[fasl]化石) or nuclear “baseload” power plants for the foreseeable(予見出来る) future. It’s a frustrating topic, since people who actually study the subject (like NREL[米・再生可能エネルギー研究所]) have shown that there are all sorts of ways to handle variability(可変性→変動性) without disrupting(distupt:混乱した・崩壊した) the grid.
One of those ways is transmission(送信→送電？): building power lines to take renewable energy from where it is abundant (often remote areas) to where it is needed (mainly big cities). More specifically, the idea is to build high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) lines that would carry energy over long distances from remote sites and feed it into the alternating-current (AC) lines that serve urban areas. (The DC vs. AC question is interesting, but not particularly essential for understanding the bigger questions.)
Transmission is a somewhat vexed(苛々した・盛んに論じられる→話題の？要討論の？) subject in the energy world. It brings land/wildlife-focused enviros(熱心な環境活動家・enbironは取り囲む) and local-energy enthusiasts in tension with mainstream enviros and lots of large corporate interests(bring A in tenshon with B:AをBと対立させる？). I’m a local-energy guy myself and have, in the past, pushed back against the kneejerk(knee-jerk：膝蓋腱反射・お決まりの行動) resort(リゾート→皆が良く訪れる場所) to more transmission.
Still(それでもhttps://www.eibunpou.net/13/chapter32/32_2.html). Even stipulating(〜を契約の条件として要求する) that we can and should do much, much more to encourage local energy ownership and management; even stipulating that local energy is capable of much more than most forecasts give it credit for; even then, I think new transmission infrastructure is to be welcomed.
Here’s my logic. There are lots of ways other than transmission to handle variable renewable energy and help stabilize its presence on the grid: energy storage, sophisticated distribution grids, demand response, more energy efficiency, etc. Eventually (hopefully?), those other means will allow local, variable, renewable sources of energy to provide smoother, more constant service. And they’ll ensure that every bit of renewable capacity is used to the fullest. But it looks to me like renewables are scaling up much more quickly than those complementary technologies(結局，これら補完的な技術よりも送電罔がより速く規模拡大できるように私には見える). Until we have more robust local energy systems, I think we’re going to need the brute-force method, i.e., transmission. (I’m open to hearing arguments to the contrary.)
…
The $10 billion plan just approved by parliament will involve three high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) lines running north to south, through Corridors A, C, and D respectively. (I don’t know what happened to poor Corridor B.) Here’s their nifty illustration:
Like much else in the clean-energy world, HVDC lines have been the target of considerable innovation recently. It’s now possible to route them through existing AC corridors(回廊地帯・重要な交通ルート・廊下), using existing towers, thus minimizing the need for disruptive(破壊的な＞disrupt：混乱した) siting battles. Work is underway on high-tech converters that can also act as breakers, allowing power to be cut off in an instant in the case of fault or accident on the AC grid ? at least in that sense, HVDC lines are getting “smarter” than existing AC lines.
In approving these lines, Germany is taking the first step toward a much-discussed “supergrid” that will interconnect all of Europe:
同研究所の太陽光関連の部署（フラウンホーファーISE）は、カイロに立地するドイツ大使館の委託を受け、太陽光発電関連のEPC事業者であるエジプトSolarizEgyptと共同で発電コストを調査、「Electricity cost from renewable energy technologies in Egypt」として公開した。
WoodMac: Global Energy Storage Installations to Hit 15GW by 2024
The 2020s are the decade when the energy storage market comes of age, with potentially profound implications for the global energy system.
greentechmedia.com
午後10:53 ・ 2020年3月1日
WoodMac: Global Energy Storage Installations to Hit 15GW by 2024
The 2020s are the decade when the energy storage market comes of age?with potentially profound implications for the global energy system.
The 2020s will be a new chapter for the wind industry, according to Wood Mackenzie research, as offshore wind’s share of the annual global wind market reaches 25 percent by 2028, up from 10 percent last year.
Onshore wind matured as an industry over the past 10 years. This maturation will continue in the new decade, as onshore wind increasingly competes with solar and suppliers undergo further consolidation.
Meanwhile, WoodMac finds that installed offshore wind capacity is expected to grow 7x by 2028. More than 80 percent of the capacity expected to be installed between 2019-2025 has already been awarded.
While the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for onshore wind will continue falling in the 2020s, none of the sector’s advances in turbine tower design, blade materials or controls will be true game-changers, according to Wood Mackenzie’s Dan Shreve.
Groundbreaking technology advancements now generally fall within the offshore wind sector as opposed to onshore.
LCOE had already dropped significantly for offshore wind in recent years as companies invested in purpose-built equipment and designs targeting offshore wind. That trend will continue in the 2020s as technology costs continue to fall.
