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Published: 2023-12-18
No. 19 (2023)

Wind power as a major competitor to photovoltaics and the resulting problems associated with the need to balance capacity in the electricity system

Zbigniew Handzel Logo ORCID , Mirosław Gajer Logo ORCID
Section: Zeszyty Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Ekonomii i Informatyki w Krakowie
https://doi.org/10.60154/ZeszytyNaukoweWSEI.2023.19.1.1.05

Abstract

Poland is currently witnessing a very rapid increase in the share of renewable sources in electricity production. Photovoltaics is definitely in the forefront here, but an equally strong development is predicted for wind energy in the future, which is linked to the planned construction of numerous wind farms in the waters of the Baltic Sea. Such a rapid increase in the installed capacity of both photovoltaic and wind power plants will inevitably result in these two sources of renewable energy becoming increasingly competitive with each other. Our country’s existing electricity system has very limited capacity to accommodate the larger surpluses of power generated from renewable sources. This is due not only to the underdevelopment of the extra-high voltage electricity transmission grid caused by the past, but also to the fact that the country’s electricity sector is based predominantly on coal- and lignite-fired power units, which have limited capacity to reduce their output when there is a significant supply of electricity from renewable sources. Our country also lacks sufficient pumped storage capacity to store surplus energy produced from renewable sources. Increased export of electricity to neighbouring countries is also highly questionable, as our western neighbour is also investing heavily in renewable energy sources, including photovoltaics, and we will therefore be forced to compete with them on price in the future (forced export of electricity to neighbouring countries virtually for free). The only type of power plants based on the combustion of fossil fuels are those with gas turbines, which can be put into full operation after only a few tens of minutes and can be taken out of service again just as quickly. However, in this case, the provision of the required quantities of cold gas for their operation has become highly problematic in recent times. It seems equally debatable in the context under consideration to invest in nuclear power in our country, as nuclear power plants do not in principle have the possibility of any regulation of the power generated, or if they do, it is within a relatively small range, and it is also a very slow process. As a result, they are not suitable for cooperation with renewable energy sources such as photovoltaics and wind power plants, where it is normal for very large and relatively rapid changes in the value of the generated power to occur. To sum up the current situation in the Polish power sector, it is regrettable to note that there is a distinct lack of any long-term and coherent plan for the development of this industry, which is so important for the economy as a whole, and the actions and initiatives undertaken in this area are rather haphazard, if not downright chaotic.

Keywords:

wind energy , photovoltaic cells , cooperation with the power system , power balance

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Handzel, Z., & Gajer, M. (2023). Wind power as a major competitor to photovoltaics and the resulting problems associated with the need to balance capacity in the electricity system. Journal of Management and Digital Transformation, (19), 135–161. https://doi.org/10.60154/ZeszytyNaukoweWSEI.2023.19.1.1.05

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Zeszyty Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Ekonomii i Informatyki w Krakowie

No. 19 (2023)
Published: 2023-12-18

ISSN: 3072-5682
Publisher
Uniwersytet DSW Ideis
Licence CC Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

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