The sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind doesn’t always blow – so can renewables become a more reliable energy source?
Rapid decarbonisation efforts are seeing countries around the world increasing the share of energy that comes from renewable sources.
However, unlike the reliable and consistent fossil fuel generators used in the past, renewables introduce an intermittency that can threaten grid stability.
The problem lies with the unpredictable nature of wind and solar power, which rely on weather patterns. Baseload generators – typically gas power stations in the UK – are spun up in the short term to fill the gap when needed. Unfortunately, this undermines broader efforts to decarbonise the grid and leaves energy security in the hands of other countries, potentially even rogue states.
A project emerging from the Dutch Marine Energy Centre (DMEC), based in The Hague, aims to rectify the issue by combining different offshore renewable sources to create a more even and consistent flow...