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Energy & Renewables vocabulary · Grid, Transmission and Distribution

Curtailment

Meaning in energy & renewables, with examples

/kɜːrˈteɪlmənt/nounCommon term

In energy & renewables, curtailment means: Reducing the output of a power plant, usually wind or solar, below what it could produce, because the grid cannot take the power or there is too much supply.

In Turkish: üretim kısıtlaması, kısıntı

How it is used

A growing issue in markets with many renewables. Plants are curtailed by the grid operator; owners track curtailment losses and ask whether they will be compensated. Causes include grid congestion, low demand and negative prices.

Example sentences

  1. Curtailment cost the wind farm about 6 percent of its annual output.

  2. During the holiday, curtailment of solar plants in the south lasted several hours.

Common collocations

  • curtailment losses
  • grid curtailment
  • be curtailed
  • curtailment compensation
  • intermittencyThe way the output of solar and wind changes with the weather and the time of day, so it cannot be fully controlled or guaranteed at every moment.
  • grid operatorThe organisation that runs the power system in real time, balancing supply and demand and keeping voltage and frequency stable across the network.
  • energy storageTechnologies that capture energy when it is available and release it later when it is needed, such as batteries, pumped hydro and thermal storage.
  • wholesale marketThe market where electricity is traded in large volumes between generators, suppliers, traders and large consumers before it reaches end customers.

More terms: Grid, Transmission and Distribution

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