● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportMedium impact1 neutral
Battery Storage Systems Cause 60-Second Power Grid Fluctuations, Researchers Find
Key points
- European power grid shows brief frequency dips every 60 seconds.
- Large-scale battery storage systems perform minute-long charge checks.
- These checks cause measurable electricity consumption fluctuations.
- Fluctuations can contribute to turbine wear and tear.
Discovery of Grid Fluctuation Cause
A team led by Dirk Witthaut from Forschungszentrum Jülich, in collaboration with researchers from the University of Cologne and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, has identified the cause of regular 60-second fluctuations in power grids. These brief dips in electricity demand, previously observed by Tennet Germany, are due to large-scale battery storage systems conducting minute-long state-of-charge checks.
Impact on Power Grids
While these deviations were not critical to grid security, they were consistently measurable and unusually regular. The fluctuations in electricity consumption caused by these checks can contribute to turbine wear and tear. The findings, published in Nature Energy, could inform strategies to make electricity supply more robust.
Global Phenomenon
The researchers determined that this phenomenon is not limited to Europe but is a global occurrence. The increasing number of battery storage systems worldwide, which are crucial for an uninterrupted power supply, contributes to this effect. The precise 60-second cycle indicated a clock-controlled mechanism, and the observed effect required many devices consuming electricity simultaneously.
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Reporting from
Researchers led by Dirk Witthaut from Forschungszentrum Jülich identified large-scale battery storage systems performing minute-long state-of-charge checks as the cause of regular 60-second power grid frequency dips. This discovery explains a long-observed phenomenon in the European power grid and could help improve electricity supply robustness by addressing the impact of these fluctuations.