Summary:
At operational level, fossil fuel phase-out and high shares of non-dispatchable renewable energy resources (RES) will challenge the system operator’s (SO) ability to balance generation, and the demand at any time. The variability of RES output ranges from one hour to a season, and critical events such as low supply and high demand might occur more frequently and for more extended periods. When evaluating the role of Energy Storage Systems (ESSs) in this context, the need for a long time scope to capture the different RES variabilities must be reconciled with the need for modeling the hourly chronology. This paper presents a medium-term operation planning model, addressing both the energy dispatch and the balancing services. This study shows that representing the combined chronological variability of demand and RES production is essential to properly assess the roles of different kinds of ESSs in the future 2030 electricity mix. Otherwise, it would not be possible to appropriately capture the frequency, depth, and length of events for which ESSs are activated. The analysis also highlights the importance of considering balancing services, given the significant contribution of batteries to the reserve market. Finally, the results show that batteries and Pumped Storage Hydro (PSH) have different roles in the Spanish electricity system with a high renewable penetration. While PSH is mainly used to provide energy during critical periods, batteries mostly provide balancing services.
Spanish layman's summary:
Este estudio presenta un modelo de planificación de la operación a medio plazo, que aborda tanto el despacho de energía como los servicios de equilibrio. El análisis destaca la importancia de considerar los servicios de equilibrio, dada la importante contribución de las baterías al mercado de reserva. Los resultados muestran que las baterías y los bombeos tienen papeles diferentes en el sistema eléctrico español con una alta penetración de renovables. Mientras que el bombeo se utiliza principalmente para proporcionar energía durante los periodos críticos, las baterías prestan sobre todo servicios de equilibrio.
English layman's summary:
This paper presents a medium-term operation planning model, addressing both the energy dispatch and the balancing services. The analysis also highlights the importance of considering balancing services, given the significant contribution of batteries to the reserve market. Finally, the results show that batteries and Pumped Storage Hydro (PSH) have different roles in the Spanish electricity system with a high renewable penetration. While PSH is mainly used to provide energy during critical periods, batteries mostly provide balancing services.
Keywords: Renewables; Electricity; Critical events; Hydropower; Operation planning; Storage
JCR Impact Factor and WoS quartile: 5,200 - Q2 (2022); 4,700 - Q2 (2023)
DOI reference:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2022.03.032
Published on paper: November 2022.
Published on-line: March 2022.
Citation:
S. Huclin, J.P. Chaves, A. Ramos, M. Rivier, T. Freire-Barceló, F. Martín, T. Gómez, A. Sánchez, Exploring the roles of storage technologies in the Spanish electricity system with high share of renewable energy. Energy Reports. Vol. 8, pp. 4041 - 4057, November 2022. [Online: March 2022]
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