The regulator´s role in the integration of renewable power in distribution grids

The fight against climate change, through rising feed-in tariff policies in France, has resulted in the increase of renewable energy in the electricity production mix. Some of the renewable sources are centralised as in large wind farms for example. Others are decentralised such as photovoltaic panels installed on the roofs of homes. The former are mainly connected to transmission networks and the latter to distribution networks. The number of such installations connected to the French distribution networks has greatly increased since 2008. These individual sources are difficult to predict and control and highly variable. In addition, customers no longer simply consume electricity, but inject it as well, which requires bidirectional flows on networks originally designed to transport electricity in only one direction.