Article published by our partner site Le Monde de l’Énergie
In its recently published “Electrical load management in France” report, Ademe, the French environment and energy management agency, found that 70% of the economically profitable technical potential for load management lies in industry and is particularly concentrated in four sectors: metallurgy, mechanical engineering, chemicals and paper.
Load management consists in temporarily curtailing electricity demand at a site by scaling back or interrupting industrial processes.
Ademe explains that the aim of load management is not, strictly speaking, “to save energy but rather to consume it at the right moment in order to bring more flexibility to an electrical grid experiencing many periods of peak demand, as well as variability in production from renewable energy sources.”
In its recently published “Electrical load management in France” study, Ademe assessed the technically feasible and economically profitable potential of load management in different industrial and large-scale retail sectors and identified the related challenges and opportunities. The study found that 70% of the potential lies in industry and is particularly concentrated in four sectors (metallurgy, mechanical engineering, chemicals and paper).
Load management holds out substantial potential in industry
The retail sectors studied have more limited – and less concentrated – potential (smaller sites). “There are few technical barriers to the development of this type of flexibility. The main obstacles are of a more economic and organisational nature, as businesses have to agree to adapt their production processes… to avoid producing.”
Ademe compared the regulatory systems applying to load management in France, the United Kingdom, Japan and two U.S. states and showed that “The incentives are fairly strong in France: a wide variety of mechanisms that include load management have already been developed to balance supply and demand in the grid.” The report concludes that “The overall regulatory framework is more advanced in France than in the other countries studied.”
Source: Electrical load management in France – Ademe
An article by our partner site Le Monde de l’Énergie
Le Monde de l’Energie, a participatory medium covering the full range of energy news in France and around the world, carries articles by specialists in such areas as renewable energy sources, wind energy, solar energy and smart grids.
