A MOOC on the challenges of renewable energies for the power grid

Variable renewable energies such as wind and solar power are expected to become the main contributors to the world's power systems as a large number of countries, including France, set ambitious targets to achieve carbon neutrality.

In a long-awaited joint report commissioned by the Ministry of Ecological Transition at the end of 2019, RTE (Réseau de Transport d'Electricité) and the IEA (International Energy Agency) describe four strict and cumulative conditions that public policies must take into account if they are to move towards an electricity mix with a high proportion of renewable energies by 2050.

Grid stability is often presented as a key issue for the future deployment of solar and wind. But what is this "grid", really ? And why should we care about it in the context on increasing renewable energies ?  The following introduction of a lecture by Yvan Bonnassieux (École polytechnique, IPVF), Erick Johnson (CNRS, École polytechnique) and Daniel Suchet (École polytechnique IPVF), offers a quick overview of our current electrical system, the different challenges raised by the integration of solar and wind and the scope and limitations of technical solutions currently considered to face these challenges. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hEbpDVsVLI&feature=youtu.be

 The full 90' lecture is available for free, here.