Exploiting Unused Capacity in the Grid

Different challenges due to the energy transition lead to higher loadings of the existing grid infrastructure in the transmission grid as well as in the distribution grids. The consequences are increasing costs for grid expansion, redispatch and curtailment in the German grids. Therefore, different new technologies and approaches aiming at a better utilization of grid infrastructure are actually proposed and realized: in this light, this paper gives a literature review and summary of the state of research concerning planned or applied technologies to optimize grid operation. Thereafter, this paper provides a comprehensive overview of the German transmission and distribution grid infrastructure utilization based on simulations as well as on real measurements. Theoretical potentials and thus unused capacities are discussed. Requirements and challenges in the field of information and communication technology, automated grid operation, monitoring the current grid state, and control concepts are discussed.