Title: Intermittency of wind: the wider picture

Authors: Timur Gul, Till Stenzel

Addresses: International Energy Agency, Renewable Energy Unit, 9 Rue de la Federation, 75739 Paris, Cedex 15, France. ' International Energy Agency, Renewable Energy Unit, 9 Rue de la Federation, 75739 Paris, Cedex 15, France

Abstract: This paper puts the discussion on intermittency of wind into its wider context: in the first part, it reviews the natural variability of all resources that power renewable energy technologies. This highlights how intermittency of wind influences the degree of variability relative to other renewable energy technologies, but does not change its kind. In the second part, management options for intermittency on electricity grids are outlined, from both a technological and a policy standpoint and some conclusions on the question of potential limits to market penetration of renewables are given.

Keywords: intermittency; wind power; renewable energy; energy policy; costs; grid integration.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGEI.2006.008990

International Journal of Global Energy Issues, 2006 Vol.25 No.3/4, pp.163 - 186

Published online: 10 Feb 2006 *

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