  Shifting our electricity generation from fossil fuel to renewable energy
sources introduces large fluctuations to the power system. Here, we demonstrate
how increased fluctuations, reduced damping and reduced intertia may undermine
the dynamical robustness of power grid networks. Focusing on fundamental noise
models, we derive analytic insights into which factors limit the dynamic
robustness and how fluctuations may induce a system escape from an operating
state. Moreover, we identify weak links in the grid that make it particularly
vulnerable to fluctuations. These results thereby not only contribute to a
theoretical understanding of how fluctuations act on distributed network
dynamics, they may also help designing future renewable energy systems to be
more robust.
