Power supply by means of an integration of electricity production from wind energy, photovoltaic, and biogas

Enhanced utilisation of renewable energy sources for electricity production as it is often demanded in political discussions would lead to new, hitherto unknown requirements on the conventional power sector. This applies particularly to wind energy and photovoltaic, the electricity sources studied in this paper. Similarly to the primarily thermal block-type power stations, these sources are characterised by occasional strong fluctuations in energy supply. The study discussed in this paper shows that an additional contribution from renewable sources to the existing power supply system would mainly lead to a substitution of medium and peak load supply units. It would also entail a greater start-up frequency of medium-load power stations and to greater annual average storage activity. Whereas the average cost of power supply would increase, total fossil fuel demand and, consequently, CO2 emissions would decrease. (orig.)