Open access
Date
2022-08Type
- Report
ETH Bibliography
yes
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Abstract
This study aimed at making a step in quantitatively analyzing the future energy system as a whole, i.e. considering all demand sectors and all potential energy carriers. The objective of the performed analysis has been to identify the potential individual role of each of the various energy carriers, as well as the way that they might complement each other towards an economic and efficient CO2-free energy system.
The problem has been addressed by formulating and solving an optimization problem that explicitly models each of the considered energy carriers and the various generation, storage, energy carrier conversion, and demand technologies. The problem, which models an entire year in hourly resolution (i.e. it considers, in a sequential manner, 8760 time-steps), is optimizing the "operation" of the entire energy system, i.e. it dispatches for every hour all the dispatchable technologies (and curtails excess available generation), subject to the cross-country network constraints and the technology technical limits, with the objective to satisfy the final demand for energy carriers (demand curtailment is possible, but it is avoided except if otherwise, the problem is not feasible) at the minimum total cost.
The performed analysis concluded with the following findings:
1. Huge investments in electricity generation technologies are needed in order to maintain energy adequacy (measured annually) if a pathway is followed where fossil fuels are eliminated from the heating and transport sectors.
2. Even with extremely high wind and solar penetration levels, reliably satisfying the final demand requires the presence of very high levels of installed peak power generation capacity and/or very aggressive demand-side flexibility schemes
3. Energy storage has a high value in the future energy system, at all time scales (from diurnal to
seasonal). Hydrogen storage, in specific, is a great enabler for higher utilization of wind and solar.
4. It is questionable whether satisfaction of the end demand by means of hydrogen (instead of electrifying) brings value from the overall energy system perspective.
5. Switzerland just relying on the rest of Europe acting as a buffer (via electricity imports and exports) entails risks, because the moments when Switzerland will have an energy supply deficit (due to no solar availability) highly correlate with when the rest of Europe faces the same challenge. Show more
Permanent link
https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000569361Publication status
publishedPublisher
ETH Zurich, Research Center for Energy NetworksEdition / version
1.2Subject
ENERGIEVERSORGUNG (ENERGIETECHNIK); Sector coupling; ENERGY SUPPLY (ENERGY TECHNOLOGY); Demand-side flexibility; ENERGY STORAGE (ENERGY TECHNOLOGY); Wind Energy; Solar Energy; Electricity transmission infrastructure; Gas transmission; Hydrogen; Energy system planning; Long-term energy system analysisOrganisational unit
02279 - Forschungsstelle Energienetze-ETH Zürich / Research Center for Energy Networks
Notes
Projekt unterstützt durch die Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Energie- und Netzforschung (SGEN)
Project supported by the Swiss Association for Energy and Network Research (SGEN)More
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ETH Bibliography
yes
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