The capacity of the electricity grid nodes will be cut by 5.5% in 2026 according to REE

Remember this fact: Red Eléctrica de España (REE) forecasts that in 2026 the electricity grid will have to withstand a curtailment - outages due to overproduction or generation slippage - of 5.5% of the total potential. And the estimate is that this figure will increase in line with the forecast evolution of the energy mix in the system. Curtailment, for power generators in the electricity grid, is the reduction of production below what could have been produced, due to the fact that the transmission grid is not capable of supporting the total production of renewable generation. In other words, curtailment means a loss of potentially useful energy and may affect power purchase and sale contracts. 

Understanding the value of Curtailment to make the best decisions

This phenomenon causes uncertainty for investment funds or companies promoting renewable generation assets that are evaluating where to invest, as they do not know some of the characteristics of the access and connection nodes, such as the curtailment value or the possibility of managing future services in secondary facilities that offer certain flexibility. This situation generates the need for a solution that provides more information to make the best investment decisions. 

Therefore, it is necessary to develop strategies that allow the maximum use of investments, minimizing possible situations of curtailment, that disconnection of generation due to the impossibility of channeling energy. It is currently possible to infer the potential risk of curtailment at a given node by knowing the transmission grid planning model and the expected evolution of generation and consumption in a given area. Through simulation tools and subsequent analysis, it is possible to develop reliable hypotheses of the behavior of the power grid, which provides more information for investment decisions, whether it is the acquisition of an existing asset or the development of a new generation project.

A map to know the capacity of the nodes available 

One way to ensure the best decision when it comes to connecting renewable generation to the grid is to combine the information obtained from the curtailment forecast with an analysis of access capacity and grid connection points. To facilitate this process, there are already tools that simplify the process of searching for and massively analyzing access capacities, both for transmission and distribution networks, saving time and reducing operational costs.

For example, with this access capacity and network connection map it is already possible to reduce the effort required to find the best available points for an agile decision making process based on objective data. Together with the curtailment analysis, this tool allows grid operators to have a complete overview of the investment, thus reducing risks.

You can get more information by visiting the GenerApp website.