1.1 Introduction
Energy then vs now
In the past, electricity was primarily generated by nuclear power plants and fossil fuels like coal and gas. Nuclear energy provided a stable base load, while coal and gas plants could quickly adjust to meet fluctuations in market demand.
With the transition to and scaling up of renewable energy, we are heading toward a greener future and making our community more sustainable: we are installing more and more solar panels and wind turbines, electrifying our mobility, and heating our homes with heat pumps.
The Challenge
However, this comes with one major challenge: the production of renewable energy is not controllable and is purely dependent on natural elements.
There’s a lot of solar power when the sun is shining and a lot of wind power when the wind is blowing—makes sense... but what if, at that moment, there isn’t enough demand for this electricity?
And what if there is high demand when there is no wind or sun? How will we supply our society with green energy then?
This is called imbalance, the supply and demand on our electricity grid isn’t in harmony anymore, it’s out of balance, with all sorts of consequences.
The Solution
Flexibility is the key: we need to store green energy when there is an excess to use it when there is a shortage. This is necessary to further make our energy supply more sustainable and to guarantee a stable, affordable supply of green electricity.
(Home) batteries can perfectly fulfill this function: they can temporarily store an excess of produced renewable energy to be used later when there is a shortage.
Want to learn more about the imbalance and the role of flexibility?
Read our detailed article here:: Why do we need flexibility?
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