OIES Podcast – Inertia in Electric Power Systems

Podcasts - Oxford Institute for Energy Studies

As wind and solar rise as a share of electricity production in many regions, electric power systems are experiencing increased concerns about how to maintain stability. One critical factor is inertia, which refers to the availability of spinning resources such as turbines that help the system maintain stable frequency during short disturbances. In this podcast from the OIES Electricity Programme, OIES Senior Research Fellow Anders Hove talks to David Victor, Professor and Director at UC San Diego School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS), and Staffan Qvist, the CEO of tech consultancy QuantifiedCarbon, about the complex but critical topic of inertia in electric power systems. They discuss their recent paper, ‘Meeting the Challenge of Reliability on Todays Electricity Grids: The Critical Role of Inertia’, and go into detail on several policy issues raised by their research. In particular, the conversation looks at what countries are doing to maintain inertia, what investments will be required, and what regulations or market reforms are needed to insure systems maintain inertia as renewables continue to rise.