Need for power grid stabilising measures significantly down in 2016

The need for, and costs of, power grid stabilising measures decreased significantly in 2016, mainly due to lower production of wind and solar power and improved grid management, says the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) in its report on grid and system security measures for 2016. BNetzA estimates the costs of re-dispatch measures – throttling or increasing power production to deal with bottlenecks – in 2016 at 219 million euros (compared to 412 million euros in 2015). Feed-in management – compensation payments to operators of renewable energy facilities that need to throttle production – cost 373 million euros in 2016 (compared to 478 million euros in 2015). The year 2016 also saw fewer marked feed-in peaks of renewable power, which usually elicit stabilising measures, says BNetzA. Almost 75 percent of feed-in management cost was paid in Germany’s northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein.

Find the full report in German here.

For background, read the CLEW factsheet Re-dispatch costs in the German power grid and the CLEW dossier The energy transition and Germany’s power grid.