354 S. KILPELÄINEN ET AL.
4. More interconnection capacity between regions and countries is
likely to be cost-effective by decreasing the apparent variability of
renewable energy. However, overhead lines have social acceptance
challenges, which can hamper the permitting processes.
5. Power grids will need better situational awareness and control
to accommodate increasing shares of converter-based generation.
Stability of the transmission grid needs to be ensured.
6. Energy storage can be helpful. As electricity storages are typically
very expensive, electrification of energy offers interesting energy
storage alternatives in the heat and transport sectors. Regulation,
taxes and tariffs should not prevent cost-efficient storage solutions.
We propose that the trends, opportunities and challenges associated with a higher share of renewable energy sources—electrification,
decentralisation and variability—make the energy system less productioncentric. Instead, it is becoming more consumption-centric, since the
“hourly” energy balance will be increasingly maintained through newly
electrified demands in heating, transport and the production of energetic
molecules. Concurrently, the role of the grid and distribution network
requires renewed attention in terms of how the whole system is managed.
Whereas in the emerging system each kWh travels on average longer
distances, the larger issue is shifting the focus from large-scale thermal
power plants to how increasingly variable, two-way flows of electricity are
managed, stored, redistributed and consumed. These changes mean that
the interests, views and behaviour of various stakeholders of the energy
system matter in a new way. Interest groups have for a long time been
crucial for Finnish energy policy (Ruostetsaari 2010), but what is new is
their widening social basis.
We now move on to the perspectives of this widening field of stakeholders, especially regarding the issues of grid development and energy
storage. Grid development is usually considered an area where Finnish
actors have advanced technology, infrastructure and R&D. Uncertainties
prevail over how the grid will cope with electrification, decentralisation
and variability, and how this affects incumbent actors and creates opportunities for emerging stakeholders. Regarding storage, uncertainties prevail
in most countries undergoing renewable energy-based energy transitions.
Finland is not an exception in this regard as piles of fossil fuels and oil
storages are becoming replaced by other solutions, with implications for
the energy business and security of supply.
4. More interconnection capacity between regions and countries is
likely to be cost-effective by decreasing the apparent variability of
renewable energy. However, overhead lines have social acceptance
challenges, which can hamper the permitting processes.
5. Power grids will need better situational awareness and control
to accommodate increasing shares of converter-based generation.
Stability of the transmission grid needs to be ensured.
6. Energy storage can be helpful. As electricity storages are typically
very expensive, electrification of energy offers interesting energy
storage alternatives in the heat and transport sectors. Regulation,
taxes and tariffs should not prevent cost-efficient storage solutions.
We propose that the trends, opportunities and challenges associated with a higher share of renewable energy sources—electrification,
decentralisation and variability—make the energy system less productioncentric. Instead, it is becoming more consumption-centric, since the
“hourly” energy balance will be increasingly maintained through newly
electrified demands in heating, transport and the production of energetic
molecules. Concurrently, the role of the grid and distribution network
requires renewed attention in terms of how the whole system is managed.
Whereas in the emerging system each kWh travels on average longer
distances, the larger issue is shifting the focus from large-scale thermal
power plants to how increasingly variable, two-way flows of electricity are
managed, stored, redistributed and consumed. These changes mean that
the interests, views and behaviour of various stakeholders of the energy
system matter in a new way. Interest groups have for a long time been
crucial for Finnish energy policy (Ruostetsaari 2010), but what is new is
their widening social basis.
We now move on to the perspectives of this widening field of stakeholders, especially regarding the issues of grid development and energy
storage. Grid development is usually considered an area where Finnish
actors have advanced technology, infrastructure and R&D. Uncertainties
prevail over how the grid will cope with electrification, decentralisation
and variability, and how this affects incumbent actors and creates opportunities for emerging stakeholders. Regarding storage, uncertainties prevail
in most countries undergoing renewable energy-based energy transitions.
Finland is not an exception in this regard as piles of fossil fuels and oil
storages are becoming replaced by other solutions, with implications for
the energy business and security of supply.