Report examines cost of incorporating renewable power into energy grid

Ars Technica : The International Energy Agency has released a report that examines the costs of integrating renewable power sources into the energy grid. Part of the report focuses specifically on wind and solar as “variable renewable energy” (VRE), as opposed to renewables such as geothermal or hydroelectric, which it views as baseline, or nonintermittent, energy sources. The agency concludes that when VRE provides less than 10% of the power supply, it can be incorporated into the energy grid at no additional cost. When VRE provides more than 10%, coping with the frequent power surges caused by such intermittent sources could be very expensive in countries or areas with mature electrical infrastructure systems. However, the report is generally optimistic because some areas already have such “smart” systems in place, and the time it will take to add new sources to the grid will also allow time to strengthen the grid itself. Developing economies can essentially build their grids from scratch and accommodate VRE from the beginning.