On very windy and sunny days the energy production of renewables skyrockets, but what happens to all that electricity that doesn’t get consumed? Is it all dispersed in the ground/heat or am I missing something?
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With a traditional power grid powered by spinning generators, if production exceeds demand, the extra energy goes into making the generators spin faster. This means that the frequency of alternating current increases. Power plant operators constantly keep an eye on that, and “take their foot off the gas”, lowering power production until the system comes back into balance.
But the generators only store a small amount of energy, so the system needs to be actively balanced, from minute to minute. There’s no long-term storage.
Solar panels don’t have a big hunk of spinning metal to store energy, the electronic circuits that add energy to the power grid just follow the frequency set by the spinning generators. So grid operators are a little concerned for the future: if we get rid of the spinning generators, will the future grid remain stable? This can be resolved with use of batteries and smart electronics, but it’s important to think about.
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