Distributed vs. centralized generation: Advantages and drawbacks

This section analyses the main benefits and drawbacks of conventional centralized generation and of the new, distributed architecture of power systems, discussing first of all the reasons for this change of paradigm. Distributed generation involves primarily, but not exclusively, crowds of small-scale renewable power plants connected to low-medium voltage networks, which is a huge breakthrough toward environmental sustainability, and beyond that an epochal challenge for system reliability and security. The intermittent and scarcely predictable nature of such sources, in fact, is highly demanding for power balancing and requires the traditional “fit-and-forget” approach to be quickly substituted by a real integration of dispersed generation into the system perspectives and needs. This section also details how flexible resources like energy storage devices and dispatchable distributed generators can contribute to power quality and to the secure operation of the power system, especially if involved in new market schemes. Finally, a quick review of operational and sizing criteria of off-grid configurations is provided.