Clean Energy Ministerial countries seek to unlock flexibility of power systems

PRESS RELEASE

Copenhagen, 24 May – The Clean Energy Ministerial’s campaign to make power systems more flexible, looks to build on its momentum and launches an extension at the Ninth Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM9) meeting.

The Power System Flexibility Campaign, which launched today at CEM9, is the continuation of the Advanced Power Plant Flexibility Campaign (APPFC) and will build on the campaign’s strong foundation to secure government and industry engagement in deploying solutions to unlock flexibility across the whole power system. It widens the APPFC’s scope to cover electricity grids, demand side management and storage.

The Advanced Power Plant Flexibility Campaign, launched at the Eighth Clean Energy Ministerial meeting in Beijing in June 2017, has been one of the most successful campaigns of the CEM, attracting over 10 leading business participants and several governments. Co-lead by Denmark, China and Germany, the campaign has been instrumental in overcoming barriers for the deployment of renewable energy technologies via elevating innovative policies and solutions from the technical to the political level.

Its key objectives are integrating variable renewable energy and unlocking the flexibility potential in the power systems, as well as better optimisation of power generation assets.

“One of the biggest challenges facing the future energy system of the CEM countries is integration of large quantities of wind and solar which require back-up capacity,” Danish Minister of Energy, Utilities and Climate Lars Christian Lilleholt said. “The APPF campaign is an excellent example of how the CEM manages to do something technically complex politically relevant. Denmark has, alongside China and Germany, led the work on sharing knowhow and best practice about how to cost-effectively make fossil power plants more flexible. Increased flexibility in the electricity system is crucial when it comes to integrating large amounts of renewable energy from wind and solar”.

“The APPF campaign was launched in Beijing in 2017 and has come a long way since”, a Chinese power plant executive said. “We want to build strong momentum and commitment from government and industry”.

The work and impact of the campaign has also featured in a dedicated CEM-documentary, launched this week – visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbRNjP7Rrq0

About the CEM:

The Clean Energy Ministerial is a partnership of the world’s key economies working together to advance the deployment of clean energy. Together, they account for approximately 90% of the world’s clean energy investments and 75% of global emissions. The CEM combines an annual high-level Ministerial meeting with year-round technical work through action-driven, transformative clean energy initiatives and campaigns, led by governments and supported through strong partnerships with the private sector, international organizations, and other stakeholders. To find out more, visit: www.cleanenergyministerial.org .