Distributed generation and the need for network expansions I Nicolas Astier I Smart Grid Seminar

Electricity systems around the world are hosting increasing numbers of small generation units connected to distribution grids. Because distribution networks were designed to supply end-consumers, whether distributed generation installations reduce the need for grid expansions has raised considerable debate. This work presents evidence from France, where distributed generation capacities have reached over 28 GW in 2018, a ten-fold increase since 2005. For the most part, these generation capacities consist of wind, solar, small hydro, renewable thermal or non-renewable thermal units. We estimate the relationship between investments in each of these five different distributed generation technologies and hourly net injections to the distribution grid across over 2,000 substations in France between 2005 and 2018. Results suggest that, at least for the case of France, increases in distributed solar and wind capacity are more likely to lead to increases, rather than decreases, in the need for distribution network investments.

Speaker Bio: Nicolas is a postdoctoral fellow within the Bits & Watts initiative at the Stanford Precourt Institute for Energy. After his graduate studies in engineering at the Ecole Polytechnique and Stanford, he completed his Ph.D. at the Toulouse School of Economics. Prior his postdoctoral work at Stanford, he served for two years and a half as an analyst at the French Energy Regulatory Commission within the electricity transmission department. As an energy and environmental economist, his research mainly focuses on applied questions that relate to the on-going transformation of the electricity industry.

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