Generating power in Denmark has never been easier. The country’s 5
gigawatts of wind capacity can produce nearly 40% of the country’s
instantaneous electricity demand. That’s the highest share of
electricity generated by wind by any nation on Earth, according to
Greentech Media.
According to the online news site’s latest report titled Ancillary
Services at the Grid Edge: Distributed Energy Resources in Denmark,
prices for ancillary services, which help accommodate high penetrations
of variable generation, have been kept in check.
At the windiest of times, Denmark’s wind farms not only meet the
country’s electricity demand, but actually exceed it. In fact, Denmark’s
interconnections with Germany, Norway and Sweden enable it to offload
its excess wind. This interconnectedness also allows for the exchange of
more than 3 gigawatts of bulk power, but also more than 400 megawatts
in ancillary services.
According to the report, “improvements in wind forecasting, the
addition of new interconnections to other balancing areas, and 15-minute
energy markets appear to have mitigated the need for increased volumes
of downward reserves and regulation”.
With its high wind penetration, Denmark is an ongoing case study on a
grid-edge future where intermittent renewables constitute a significant
amount of generating capacity for a utility or even an entire nation,
according to Greentech Media.
http://neurope.eu/article/denmarks-wind-farms-exceed-electricity-demand/