Energy & Environment · Storage and grids / Principles and inquiry
Renewables and grid balance experiment guide
Compare daily demand with renewable generation and see how storage affects backup generation and curtailment.
How does it work?
Supply and demand must balance every hour. Storage shifts surplus power but has losses and capacity limits.
Demand = Supply + Discharge − Charge − Curtailment · ΔESS = 0.9 Charge − Discharge/0.9
Try this investigation
- Compare daily demand with renewable generation and see how storage affects backup generation and curtailment.
- Run and record each of the three reference settings.
- Change one variable in each comparison and compare its energy results with the baseline.
Interpreting your results
When total supply exceeds demand, which terms balance it?
Charging and curtailment · Supply and demand must balance every hour. Storage shifts surplus power but has losses and capacity limits.
Assumptions and limitations
Uses 24 synthetic one-hour demand, sunlight and wind intervals. Storage starts half full; charge and discharge efficiencies are each 90%. Backup fills shortages. Transmission, forecast errors, frequency control and costs are omitted.