Theory 30/Efficiency vs Resilience/Power grids
Efficient Grids Lose Inertia
The claim
Grid efficiency trades against frequency stability, because the conversion technologies that raise efficiency remove the rotating mass that supplies inertia.
01Mechanism
Inertia comes free with synchronous machines; inverter-based sources are more efficient and provide none, so stability must be bought separately.
02Prediction
Stability should fall as efficiency rises.
03Refutation
Stability independent of conversion technology would remove the trade-off.