Publication: Practical Guidance for Defining a Smart Grid Modernization Strategy
Loading...
Files in English
12,612 downloads
Published
2017-03-14
ISSN
Date
2017-03-14
Editor(s)
Abstract
Practical Guidance for Defining a Smart Grid Modernization Strategy: The Case of Distribution guides stakeholders on how utilities can define their own smart grid vision, identify priorities, and structure investment plans. While most of these strategic aspects apply to any area of the electricity grid, the book focuses on distribution. The guidance includes key building blocks for modernizing the distribution grid and provides examples of grid modernization projects. This revised edition also includes key communication system requirements to support a well-functioning grid. The concept of the smart grid is relevant to all grids. What varies are the magnitude and type of the incremental steps toward modernization for achieving a specific smart grid vision. A utility that is at a relatively low level of grid modernization may leapfrog one or more levels of modernization to achieve some of the benefits of the highest levels of grid modernization. Smart grids impact electric distribution systems significantly. In developing countries, modernizing the distribution grid promises to benefit the operation of electric distribution utilities in many and various ways. These benefits include improved operational efficiency (such as reduced losses and lower energy consumption), reduced peak demand, improved service reliability, and ability to accommodate distributed generating resources without adversely impacting overall power quality. Practical Guidance for Defining a Smart Grid Modernization Strategy concludes by describing funding and regulatory issues that may need to be taken into account when developing smart grid plans.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Madrigal, Marcelino; Uluski, Robert; Mensan Gaba, Kwawu. 2017. Practical Guidance for Defining a Smart Grid Modernization Strategy. World Bank Studies;. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26256 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Digital Object Identifier
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Practical Guidance for Defining a Smart Grid Modernization Strategy : The Case of Distribution(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2015)This report provides some practical guidance on how utilities can define their own smart grid vision, identify priorities, and structure investment plans. While most of these strategic aspects apply to any area of the electricity grid, the document focuses on the segment of distribution. The guidance includes key building blocks that are needed to modernize the distribution grid and provides examples of grid modernization projects. Potential benefits that can be achieved (in monetary terms) for a given investment range are also discussed. The concept of the smart grid is relevant to any grid regardless of its stage of development. What varies are the magnitude and type of the incremental steps toward modernization that will be required to achieve a specific smart grid vision. Importantly, a utility that is at a relatively low level of grid modernization may leap frog one or more levels of modernization to achieve some of the benefits offered by the highest levels of grid modernization. Smart grids impact electric distribution systems significantly and sometimes more than any other part of the electric power grid. In developing countries, modernizing the distribution grid promises to benefit the operation of electric distribution utilities in many and various ways. These benefits include improved operational efficiency (reduced losses, lower energy consumption, amongst others), reduced peak demand, improved service reliability, and ability to accommodate distributed generating resources without adversely impacting overall power quality. Benefits of distribution grid modernization also include improved asset utilization (allowing operators to 'squeeze' more capacity out of existing assets) and workforce productivity improvement. These benefits can provide more than enough monetary gain for electric utility stakeholders in developing countries to offset the cost of grid modernization. Finally the report describes some funding and regulatory issues that may need to be taken into account when developing smart grid plans.Publication Mapping Smart-Grid Modernization in Power Distribution Systems(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015)Smart grids are an essential element in improving efficiency that is relevant to utilities in all countries - from advanced utilities with robust grids to those whose grids barely keep up with demand. This note provides practical guidance for stakeholders in defining smart-grid goals, identifying priorities, and structuring investment plans. While most of these principles apply to any part of the electricity grid (transmission, distribution, off-grid), the note focuses on the distribution network. Modernizing the grid can help utilities address issues in service delivery such as reducing technical and commercial losses, promoting energy conservation, managing peak demand, improving reliability, integrating high levels of distributed generation (such as mini-grids and power sources with variable output), and accommodating the rising use of electric vehicles. To harness these benefits, it is essential that well-designed plans be developed for the implementation of smart-grid goals and objectives. Smart elements in a grid will differ greatly depending on the state of the power system and the country context. A smart-grid roadmap will therefore vary considerably across countries, but smart technology is essential for successful modernization of any grid.Publication Operating and Planning Electricity Grids with Variable Renewable Generation : Review of Emerging Lessons from Selected Operational Experiences and Desktop Studies(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013-02-27)The development of wind-and solar-generating capacity is growing rapidly around the world as policy makers pursue various energy policy objectives. This paper will describe the challenges in integrating wind and solar generation, the lessons learned, and recommended strategies from both operating experience and integration studies. Case studies on the experience with wind and solar integration in China, Germany, and Spain are also included in this paper. The paper is organized as follows. First section summarizes worldwide wind and solar development, the challenges in integrating wind and solar generation, and some of the lessons learned from studies designed to evaluate the impact of higher levels of wind and solar generation and also from the operational experience in some countries with larger amounts of renewable energy. The second section summarizes some of the solutions for incorporating higher levels of wind and solar capacity into short-term system operations. This section also explains basic methodologies to implement system operations studies to understand the impacts of variability in system operation. The third section explains the contribution of variable renewables to long-term supply adequacy-commonly called 'firm' power-and the relationship of this to long-term reserves; it also explores how these issues can be incorporated into long-term planning or adequacy assessments. Overall, the variability of wind power generation adds to the variability on the grid in most time scales, and a key question that wind integration studies must address is whether there is enough existing capability on the grid to manage that increased variability, or whether new sources, such as new generation or increased levels of demand response, must be added to manage that variability.Publication Transmission Expansion for Renewable Energy Scale-Up : Emerging Lessons and Recommendations(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2012)Scaling up renewable energy, such as wind and solar, goes hand-in-hand with the expansion of transmission infrastructure. The richest solar and wind renewable energy sites are often located far away from consumption centers or existing transmission networks. Unlike fossil fuel-based power sources, renewable energy sources are greatly site-constrained and, for this reason, transmission networks need to be expanded to reach the renewable energy sites. Delivering transmission is a challenge, given the dispersion and granularity of renewable sources. Tapping a few hundred megawatts of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power, will likely require delivering transmission to several sites. Furthermore, transmission is also required to smooth out the variability of new renewable sources in a large geographical area. For these reasons, countries' renewable energy scale-up efforts are being challenged by the need for timely and efficient delivery of transmission networks. The objective of this report is to present emerging lessons and recommendations on approaches to efficiently and effectively expand transmission networks for renewable energy scale-up. The report focuses on the planning and regulatory aspects of transmission expansion that are relevant to transmission utilities and electricity regulators.Publication Transmitting Renewable Energy to the Grid : The Case of Mexico(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-02-24)Mexico's 2010 national energy strategy aims to promote sustainability and simultaneously increase energy access by increasing the share of renewable resources used to generate energy. The wind farms of La Ventosa, a windy area in the southeastern state of Oaxaca, are a key part of that strategy, which aims to raise the share of renewables in generation to 35 percent by 2024, up from 23.7 percent in 2008. The open season process was a major breakthrough that made possible several agreements to build wind power generation projects in an area that previously had been closed to development because of the lack of transmission infrastructure. The open season process gave developers of renewable energy the certainty and predictability they needed concerning the development of transmission infrastructure, while also reducing the investment costs of that infrastructure by ensuring development of an optimized and shared network. Moreover, the system is transparent for all participants. It highlights the ability of Comision Federal de Electricidad (CFE) to modernize its role as a facilitator and creative problem solver, and encourages renewable energy developers and energy consumers to collaborate and follow through on their commitments for the benefit of all involved.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.Publication Entrepreneurship and the Extensive Margin in Export Growth : A Microeconomic Accounting of Costa Rica’s Export Growth during 1997-2007(World Bank, 2011-10-18)Successful exporting countries are often seen as successful economies. This paper studies the role of new exporting entrepreneurs – defined as firms that became exporters – in determining export growth in a fast growing and export oriented middle-income country i.e., Costa Rica during 1997-2007. It provides a detailed description of the contribution of export entrepreneurs in the short and long run, and comparing the observed patterns with an emerging literature on the role of the “extensive” margin in international trade. On a year-by-year basis, the rate of firm turnover into and out of exporting is high, but exit rates decline rapidly with age (i.e., the number of years the firm has been exporting). On average, about 30 percent of firms in each year tend to exit export activities, and a similar percentage of firms enter. The exiting and entering firms tend to be significantly smaller than incumbent firms in terms of export value (e.g., entrants export about 30 percent less on average than incumbent firms). These findings are consistent with existing evidence for other middle income Latin American countries. However, in the long run new product-firm combinations (i.e., product-firm combinations not present in 1997) account for almost 60 percent of the value of exports in 2007. Surviving new exporters actively adopted new products (for the firm, but not necessarily new for the country) and abandoned weaker existing products they start with, and their export growth rates were very high during a period (1999-2005) when those of incumbent exporting firms were actually negative.Publication Market Power and the Transmission of Loan Subsidies(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-07)This paper studies credit allocation when government loan programs are distributed by private banks. The study focuses on Brazil, where private lenders can operate in two credit markets: competitive loans with own funding and earmarked loans that rely on government funds to finance firms at below-the-market interest rates. Using rich loan-level data between 2005-2016, the paper finds that banks are disproportionately more likely to extend earmarked loans to larger firms and firms with an existing credit relationship. The paper further documents a cross-selling strategy whereby banks increase the price of free-market loans of riskier borrowers that also obtain earmarked credit. Inadvertently, the government selects winners and losers, since mostly larger businesses, those that bank with the largest private lenders, and those willing to bundle free-market and earmarked loans disproportionately access the program.Publication Cabo Verde Circular Economy Diagnostic, September 2024(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-07)This report identifies circular economy (CE) opportunities in the tourism sector in Cabo Verde, The Gambia, and Säo Tomé & Principe. The project focuses on enhancing circularity by advocating for policy changes, phasing out single-use plastics (SUP), and promoting innovative infrastructure and sustainable financing solutions. The Cabo Verde report provides a thorough diagnostic to identify opportunities and gaps within key infrastructure systems, including materials, waste, energy, and water, tailored to Cabo Verde's unique geographic and economic context. It includes firm audits and an extensive market assessment to determine the scope and size of CE products within the tourism industry. The report also outlines the results of the Multi-Criteria Analysis (MCA) to prioritize prospective business cases for further evaluation of their financial and technical viability. Additionally, it presents an overview of the Institutional & Regulatory Analysis and Roadmap, highlighting key market opportunities such as in-vessel composting, large water dispensers, rooftop solar PV, and greywater recycling. The findings emphasize the potential for CE interventions to foster economic growth, environmental sustainability, and resilience in Cabo Verde's tourism sector.Publication Nepal Infrastructure Sector Assessment(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-02-28)Despite several severe shocks in the past, conflict, unstable governments, earthquakes, and trade disruptions, Nepal has made strong progress in reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity. With the decade-long peace and constitutional process concluded, the Government of Nepal is keen to accelerate economic growth and become a middle-income country by 2030. Between 1996 and 2011, the proportion of households living in extreme poverty fell from 46 to 15 percent. Nepal's macroeconomic fundamentals have remained sound. This report takes place as Nepal transitions to a federal structure. This poses a unique and unprecedented opportunity to establish clarity of functions, expenditures, and revenue assignments, as well as changing jurisdictions across various levels of governments and agencies, including as they interface with the private sector. The new government is in place and emphasizing the need for stronger cooperation between the public and private sectors. Against this background, this report assesses the energy (electricity generation, transmission, and distribution), transport (roads, airports, and urban transport), and urban (water supply, sanitation, and solid waste management) infrastructure sectors. The report recommends interventions that combine short-term and longer-term structural and policy changes with tailored project implementation approaches. Completing projects will help stress test the framework and system and identify potential bottlenecks that can be corrected. Such a learning-by-doing approach will further help prioritize the implementation of the initiatives proposed in this report and target capacity development initiatives in the areas of greatest need.