Quo vadis, grid stability? Challenges increase as generation portfolio changes

The power generation portfolio in the German high voltage transmission and distribution system has been constantly changing since 2011. After several decades with relatively constant segmentation into base-, medium- and peak-load and a power plant park designed accordingly for these purposes, significant changes have occurred in the last 10 years. As an important result of the so-called Energiewende, starting in 2011 with the shutdown of the first German nuclear power plants (NPP) after the reactor accident in Fukushima, the last NPPs will go eventually offline by the end of 2022.