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The share of hydroelectric power in electricity generation is set to decrease as solar and wind come to dominate. Yet, hydropower has a crucial role to play in providing flexibility and storage for grids increasingly running on variable renewable energy resources
Often overlooked by governments, a lack of effective market mechanism is holding new hydro and pumped storage back
STORAGE NEEDS Electricity grids will require larger and longer storage options as the share of variable wind and solar generation grows
VITAL ROLE Hydropower is a dispatchable, flexible source of electricity so can replace traditional polluting forms of energy
KEY QUOTE Once you have no combined-cycle gas plants and a week with no wind, batteries won’t do anything for you ...
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The ups and downs in demand for electricity have long made the flexible operation of power systems a must, so increasing that flexibility to also accommodate variations in supply from renewables is not that big a challenge. Having a clear definition of the term can only help the energy transition
