Concurrent deficit and surplus situations in the future renewable Swiss and European electricity system

European countries aim to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by mid-century. Consequently, the European energy system and particularly the electricity system must undergo major changes. An increasing electrification of the mobility and heating sector is required for decarbonisation, which reserves elect...

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Main Authors: Nadine Lienhard, Robin Mutschler, Ludger Leenders, Martin Rüdisüli
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2023-03-01
Series:Energy Strategy Reviews
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211467X22002309
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author Nadine Lienhard
Robin Mutschler
Ludger Leenders
Martin Rüdisüli
author_facet Nadine Lienhard
Robin Mutschler
Ludger Leenders
Martin Rüdisüli
author_sort Nadine Lienhard
collection DOAJ
description European countries aim to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by mid-century. Consequently, the European energy system and particularly the electricity system must undergo major changes. An increasing electrification of the mobility and heating sector is required for decarbonisation, which reserves electricity a central role on the path towards net zero CO2 emissions. However, to meet emission targets, the electricity supply must originate from low emission generation sources. According to the TYNDP 2018 scenarios, the electricity supply in Europe is expected to predominantly originate from renewable energy converters, introducing new challenges to energy systems. Due to the seasonality of renewable energy sources, most European countries, including Switzerland, are expected to face seasonal imbalances of supply and demand in the electricity system. According to national energy strategies of countries with deficits in electricity, the resulting shortages in supply should be covered with imports from their neighbouring countries. This study assesses concurrent deficit and surplus situations among different balancing zones and highly renewable energy systems. Thereby, possible infeasible energy balances are identified by analysing the case of Switzerland and its neighbouring countries Austria, Germany, France and Italy based on published scenarios. The results show, that there are concurrent deficit situations in Switzerland and its neighbouring countries in particular during winter. Hence, the results of this analysis challenge the current energy strategies and the aim to reach net zero CO2 emissions in Switzerland and Europe.
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spelling doaj.art-6eee953f39c6458387ac61f509bacfca2023-03-15T04:27:59ZengElsevierEnergy Strategy Reviews2211-467X2023-03-0146101036Concurrent deficit and surplus situations in the future renewable Swiss and European electricity systemNadine Lienhard0Robin Mutschler1Ludger Leenders2Martin Rüdisüli3Urban Energy Systems Laboratory, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Empa, Dübendorf, Switzerland; Energy & Process Systems Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, SwitzerlandUrban Energy Systems Laboratory, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Empa, Dübendorf, Switzerland; Corresponding author.Energy & Process Systems Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, SwitzerlandUrban Energy Systems Laboratory, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Empa, Dübendorf, SwitzerlandEuropean countries aim to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by mid-century. Consequently, the European energy system and particularly the electricity system must undergo major changes. An increasing electrification of the mobility and heating sector is required for decarbonisation, which reserves electricity a central role on the path towards net zero CO2 emissions. However, to meet emission targets, the electricity supply must originate from low emission generation sources. According to the TYNDP 2018 scenarios, the electricity supply in Europe is expected to predominantly originate from renewable energy converters, introducing new challenges to energy systems. Due to the seasonality of renewable energy sources, most European countries, including Switzerland, are expected to face seasonal imbalances of supply and demand in the electricity system. According to national energy strategies of countries with deficits in electricity, the resulting shortages in supply should be covered with imports from their neighbouring countries. This study assesses concurrent deficit and surplus situations among different balancing zones and highly renewable energy systems. Thereby, possible infeasible energy balances are identified by analysing the case of Switzerland and its neighbouring countries Austria, Germany, France and Italy based on published scenarios. The results show, that there are concurrent deficit situations in Switzerland and its neighbouring countries in particular during winter. Hence, the results of this analysis challenge the current energy strategies and the aim to reach net zero CO2 emissions in Switzerland and Europe.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211467X22002309European energy scenariosSwiss energy systemNet zero 2050Integration of intermittent renewablesSeasonal imbalancesWinter deficits
spellingShingle Nadine Lienhard
Robin Mutschler
Ludger Leenders
Martin Rüdisüli
Concurrent deficit and surplus situations in the future renewable Swiss and European electricity system
Energy Strategy Reviews
European energy scenarios
Swiss energy system
Net zero 2050
Integration of intermittent renewables
Seasonal imbalances
Winter deficits
title Concurrent deficit and surplus situations in the future renewable Swiss and European electricity system
title_full Concurrent deficit and surplus situations in the future renewable Swiss and European electricity system
title_fullStr Concurrent deficit and surplus situations in the future renewable Swiss and European electricity system
title_full_unstemmed Concurrent deficit and surplus situations in the future renewable Swiss and European electricity system
title_short Concurrent deficit and surplus situations in the future renewable Swiss and European electricity system
title_sort concurrent deficit and surplus situations in the future renewable swiss and european electricity system
topic European energy scenarios
Swiss energy system
Net zero 2050
Integration of intermittent renewables
Seasonal imbalances
Winter deficits
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211467X22002309
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AT robinmutschler concurrentdeficitandsurplussituationsinthefuturerenewableswissandeuropeanelectricitysystem
AT ludgerleenders concurrentdeficitandsurplussituationsinthefuturerenewableswissandeuropeanelectricitysystem
AT martinrudisuli concurrentdeficitandsurplussituationsinthefuturerenewableswissandeuropeanelectricitysystem