ACCIONA Energía has reached a technological milestone by integrating renewables into the electric power system, becoming the first company in the world to provide adjustment services by increasing the level of generation exclusively through wind power, a field reserved for conventional energy sources until recently.
The so-called "system adjustment services" in Spain - managed by the system operator, Red Eléctrica de España (REE), are aimed at ensuring a constant balance between energy generation and demand, for which the services are remunerated. This is essential for the correct functioning of the grid because electricity cannot be stored on a large scale, so all the energy consumed at a given time should be produced instantly. Any decoupling between supply and demand could, if not corrected in time, jeopardize the quality of electric power supplies.
Traditionally, system adjustment services for the national grid have been provided by conventional technologies such as thermal power stations or large-scale hydropower, given their technical characteristics. However, the technological evolution of renewable energies and the development of sophisticated prediction and management tools means they can also participate in this type of service.
This is reflected in the new regulation on the sector in Spain, specifically a Resolution dated 18 December 2015 by the Secretary of State for Energy that lays down the criteria for participation in system adjustment services. This has become legally possible since 10 February this year.
The participation is materialized through a system of adjustment markets (or operating markets) managed by the System Operator (REE) in which generators offer capacity or backup power ( upward' or downward', i.e. increasing or reducing the existing level) so that it can be used the next day by REE. The aim here is to correct any possible deviations between the energy programmed in the daily market and the real amount at a particular time (either through deviations between generation and consumption or due to situations of technical non-feasibility in the transmission network, called "technical restrictions").
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