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Virtual energy storage gain resulting from the spatio-temporal coordination of hydropower over Europe

Wörman, Anders ; Uvo, Cintia Bertacchi LU orcid ; Brandimarte, Luigia ; Busse, Stefan ; Crochemore, Louise ; Lopez, Marc Girons ; Hao, Shuang ; Pechlivanidis, Ilias and Riml, Joakim (2020) In Applied Energy 272.
Abstract

The viability of a renewable electricity system depends on a relatively small share of hydropower storage resources to regulate climate variations and the spatially uneven distribution of renewable energy. By spatio-temporal coordination of hydropower production over larger regions, the energy storage demand will be reduced and contribute to a “virtual” energy storage gain that in Europe was found to be almost twice the actual energy storage capacity of hydropower reservoirs. In an attempt to quantify this gain, hydropower availability was simulated for most parts of the European continent for a 35-year period based on historical hydrometeorological data. The most significant benefits from spatio-temporal management arise at distances... (More)

The viability of a renewable electricity system depends on a relatively small share of hydropower storage resources to regulate climate variations and the spatially uneven distribution of renewable energy. By spatio-temporal coordination of hydropower production over larger regions, the energy storage demand will be reduced and contribute to a “virtual” energy storage gain that in Europe was found to be almost twice the actual energy storage capacity of hydropower reservoirs. In an attempt to quantify this gain, hydropower availability was simulated for most parts of the European continent for a 35-year period based on historical hydrometeorological data. The most significant benefits from spatio-temporal management arise at distances between 1200 and 3000 km, i.e., on the continental scale, which can have implications for a future renewable energy system at large. Furthermore, we discuss a condition termed “energy-domain-specific drought”, which is a risk that can be reduced by the spatio-temporal management of power production. Virtual energy storage gain is not explicitly considered in the management models of hydropower production systems but could in principle complement existing management incentives.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Climate fluctuations, Energy balance, Spatio-temporal coordination of hydropower, Spectral analysis, Virtual energy storage
in
Applied Energy
volume
272
article number
115249
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • scopus:85085507112
ISSN
0306-2619
DOI
10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115249
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
47c21386-1f66-4b92-aafc-c1fc8564c189
date added to LUP
2020-06-05 08:34:12
date last changed
2022-04-18 22:43:41
@article{47c21386-1f66-4b92-aafc-c1fc8564c189,
  abstract     = {{<p>The viability of a renewable electricity system depends on a relatively small share of hydropower storage resources to regulate climate variations and the spatially uneven distribution of renewable energy. By spatio-temporal coordination of hydropower production over larger regions, the energy storage demand will be reduced and contribute to a “virtual” energy storage gain that in Europe was found to be almost twice the actual energy storage capacity of hydropower reservoirs. In an attempt to quantify this gain, hydropower availability was simulated for most parts of the European continent for a 35-year period based on historical hydrometeorological data. The most significant benefits from spatio-temporal management arise at distances between 1200 and 3000 km, i.e., on the continental scale, which can have implications for a future renewable energy system at large. Furthermore, we discuss a condition termed “energy-domain-specific drought”, which is a risk that can be reduced by the spatio-temporal management of power production. Virtual energy storage gain is not explicitly considered in the management models of hydropower production systems but could in principle complement existing management incentives.</p>}},
  author       = {{Wörman, Anders and Uvo, Cintia Bertacchi and Brandimarte, Luigia and Busse, Stefan and Crochemore, Louise and Lopez, Marc Girons and Hao, Shuang and Pechlivanidis, Ilias and Riml, Joakim}},
  issn         = {{0306-2619}},
  keywords     = {{Climate fluctuations; Energy balance; Spatio-temporal coordination of hydropower; Spectral analysis; Virtual energy storage}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Applied Energy}},
  title        = {{Virtual energy storage gain resulting from the spatio-temporal coordination of hydropower over Europe}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115249}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.115249}},
  volume       = {{272}},
  year         = {{2020}},
}