ABSTRACT
Looking broadly at intermittency in energy supply systems, this study has found that examples of intermittency, disruption, and variation in the ability to match demand and supply can be found in all existing and contemplated energy systems. However, the characteristics of intermittency situations can be quite different for different types of systems. Those systems with supply from a few large installations are vulnerable due to risk of failure, whether technical or caused by external circumstances, and so are energy distribution systems based on a few large channels of transport (e.g., power lines and pipelines). This also goes for supply based on import of energy from a small number of suppliers, including inland imports and particularly if involving international import from unstable regions. In contrast, smaller, decentralized, or modular energy supply units inherently reduce the risk of some avenues for creating intermittency situations, but if they are based on renewable energy flows, the ability to regulate supply often becomes limited, so that intermittency situations become much more probable.
