Balancing green power : how to deal with variable energy sources Renewable energy sources are large but some are variable and intermittent. The wide scale use of renewable energy sources for energy supply will require the adoption of ways to compensate for their variability. This book reviews the technical options looking at their pros and cons and how they might work together to support a reliable and sustainable energy system. This is a rapidly advancing area of research and practice and Balancing Green Power offers an ideal introduction to the field 7. Conclusion : all change 7.1. The balancing challenge 7.2. Balancing technology issues 7.3. Balancing renewables without fossil fuel use 7.4. The challenges ahead 2. The story so far : balancing with generation plants 2.1. Grid balancing with variable renewables 2.2. Balancing with fossil plants 2.3. Non fossil balancing plants 4. Grid links to the future 4.1. Electricity grids 4.2. Supergrids 4.3. Assessment of supergrids 4.4. Local power 4.5. Demand management and smart grids 4.6. System choice 6. Making changes 6.1. Renewables and grid balancing in the EU 6.2. The German approach 6.3. Flexibility base load and market design 6.4. Making the change globally 6.5. Institutional challenges 6.6. The challenges of change 5. System integration 5.1. System balancing options compared 5.2. System integration costs 5.3. Moving beyond LCOE 5.4. The ERP view 5.5. Other views on balancing needs and costs 5.6. The role of heat and balancing the mix 5.7. Balancing around the world 3. The next challenge : energy storage 3.1. Storing energy 3.2. Battery storage 3.3. Larger scale storage 3.4. Heat storage 3.5. The way ahead Preface 1. Introduction : balancing variations 1.1. Variable renewables 1.2. Dealing with variable output source correlations 1.3. Balancing options 1.4. The aims of this book 1.5. A few words about terms