Automated demand response key to intermittent renewables

21. August 2012 |By:  Becky Beetz


Automated demand response, or AutoDR could cost-effectively help combat intermittent renewable energy supply, particularly in light of the current high costs of grid-connected storage batteries.

By 2020, many countries, states and regions expect to generate a certain percentage of their electricity from renewables, like wind and solar. In the European Union, this target is 20%, for example, while in the U.S. state of California, it is 33%.

While these goals are positive, if not exactly over-ambitious, storage solutions are currently costly and technology is still being developed, meaning intermittency issues  are a very present challenge for the energy industry.