Solved the mystery of the stopped wind turbines

This summer, a video circulated on Twitter showing a renewable energy plant where, despite the noticeable wind, the wind turbines were stopped. Mystery. This post opened a long thread of comments filled with speculations and conspiracies. Not enough wind, preventive or corrective maintenance work, the government was behind the stoppage... and many other theories. The truth is that this phenomenon, although it can occur for many reasons, including those mentioned above, can also happen, as in the case of the video, due to an external factor that is increasingly affecting renewable energy parks (including photovoltaic): curtailment or technical restriction.

Curtailment, for power grid generators, is the reduction of production below what could have been produced because the transmission grid is unable to support the total output of renewable generation. In other words, curtailment represents a loss of potentially useful energy and can affect energy purchase and sale contracts.

Wouldn't you like to have all the information regarding curtailment that could affect your plant before sizing it and choosing the connection point?

Can you imagine planning a renewable energy park, estimating production and return on investment, only to find that it doesn't match reality? Wouldn't you like to have all the information about curtailment that could affect your plant before sizing it and choosing the connection point? The competitiveness of the plant depends on having this information. In this case, as in most, information is power.

The Wind Business Association (AEE) has already warned in El Periódico de la Energía that curtailments will increase as more renewable generation parks are put into operation, especially in areas of Spain with better wind. For example, Red Eléctrica de España forecasts an average curtailment of 14.5% in the worst-case scenario, 2.4% in the best case, and 5.5% in the most likely scenario by 2026. Specifically in the wind sector, the limitations applied during 2020 amounted to 187 GWh, nearly four times the value of the previous year (49 GWh). But this situation is only the beginning.

Although curtailment is an increasingly pressing problem in the field of renewable generation, there are already solutions on the market for the calculation and solution of curtailment in the grid.

Discover GenerApp, the tool that allows to perform real scenarios and simulations for the calculation of curtailment in a node, both in plants already in operation and in possible future plants with future visualization. This allows power generators to make better decisions when investing in a new asset, a new connection point or projecting a future strategy.