Wind Industry Criticizes E-Economy Law
The industry association IG Windkraft criticizes in a statement that the peak capping for wind energy is neither economically nor technically justified. This measure was originally intended for PV systems in the low-voltage network, where it leads to minor energy losses due to the bundled midday peaks. Furthermore, the capping could prevent overloads and reduce grid expansion costs, as over-dimensioning is avoided.
Wind Industry Fears High Economic Losses Even with Slight Capping
Meanwhile, wind turbines feed into medium and high-voltage networks. These have more buffer and control options, and the feeding of large amounts of energy has always been common here. Electricity generation from wind power is also highly distributed spatially, temporally, and technologically. Even a slight capping can cause high economic costs for operators of wind turbines. According to IG Windkraft, a capping of 1 percent leads to an energy loss of 10 percent. At the same time, wind farms are geared towards profitability, so lower revenues could endanger the implementation of projects, among other things, because financing becomes more difficult. "Due to the completely different conditions, it is unclear why wind energy should be discriminated against by this measure," said the industry association. The industry also cannot understand the different treatment of hydropower and gas power plants.
Industry Association Calls for Exceptions in Electricity Industry Act
The industry association is calling for exceptions to the peak capping for hybrid, storage-integrated, or grid-serving systems, a legal separation between congestion management and permanent capping, and a legally established distinction by technology and grid level. Furthermore, the grid access conditions for existing systems should not be changed retroactively, and the distribution network should be controlled more flexibly, similar to the transmission network.
The responsible Minister of Economic Affairs, Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer (ÖVP), cannot understand the criticism of the peak capping for wind power and described it in an interview with the daily newspaper "Der Standard" (Monday edition) as inappropriate "scaremongering." The peak capping will "not be decided arbitrarily, thumbs up or down. It follows physical requirements to take the peak load off the grid and distribute it better," said the minister. The criteria catalog for this will be developed by the regulatory authority E-Control. The peak capping applies only to renewables because they are "volatile" due to the weather. Meanwhile, gas power plants have the task of being quickly startable to meet an acute demand.
(APA/Red)
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