Smart Grids and Renewables: A Guide for Effective Deployment

The steady growth of renewable energy technologies and cost-competitiveness of solar and wind power call for a smarter approach to power-grid management. This working paper from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) provides a technical overview of smart-grid technologies as a way to accommodate larger shares of renewable energy in the electricity sector. 
Smart Grids and Renewables: A Guide for Effective Deployment finds that:

• Smart-grid technologies are already deployed cost-effectively in many instances today, enabling higher penetration of renewable energy sources.
• Policies and regulations need to be developed for smart grids and renewable energy sources as soon as, if not before, large-scale deployment takes off.

The paper provides guidance to grid regulators, utilities and policy-makers on how to accelerate the deployment of smart grids for renewable energy. It provides a set of strategies to guide decision-makers in the transition to a smarter grid, along with a comprehensive overview of the smart-grid technologies available for the integration of renewable energy, including relatively high shares of variable sources such as solar and wind energy.

Smart Grids and Renewables is part of IRENA’s expanding technology roadmap for renewable energy grid integration.