Renewable build-up pathways for the US: Generation costs are not system costs

  • The transition to a future electricity system based primarily on wind and solar PV is examined for all regions in the contiguous US. We present optimized pathways for the build-up of wind and solar power for least backup energy needs as well as for least cost obtained with a simplified, lightweight model based on long-term high resolution weather-determined generation data. In the absence of storage, the pathway which achieves the best match of generation and load, thus resulting in the least backup energy requirements, generally favors a combination of both technologies, with a wind/solar PV (photovoltaics) energy mix of about 80/20 in a fully renewable scenario. The least cost development is seen to start with 100% of the technology with the lowest average generation costs first, but with increasing renewable installations, economically unfavorable excess generation pushes it toward the minimal backup pathway. Surplus generation and the entailed costs can be reduced significantly by combining wind and solar power, and/or absorbing excess generation, for example with storage or transmission, or by coupling the electricity system to other energy sectors.

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Metadaten
Author:Sarah BeckerGND, Bethany A. Frew, Gorm B. AndresenORCiD, Mark Z. JacobsonORCiDGND, Stefan SchrammGND, Martin GreinerORCiDGND
URN:urn:nbn:de:hebis:30:3-770786
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2014.12.056
ISSN:0360-5442
Parent Title (English):Energy
Publisher:Elsevier
Place of publication:Amsterdam
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Date of Publication (online):2015/01/27
Date of first Publication:2015/01/27
Publishing Institution:Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg
Release Date:2024/01/31
Tag:Energy system design; Large-scale integration of renewable power generation; Levelized cost of electricity; Optimal mix of wind and solar PV; Renewable power generation
Volume:81
Page Number:9
First Page:437
Last Page:445
HeBIS-PPN:519157109
Institutes:Physik
Wissenschaftliche Zentren und koordinierte Programme / Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS)
Dewey Decimal Classification:3 Sozialwissenschaften / 33 Wirtschaft / 330 Wirtschaft
6 Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften / 62 Ingenieurwissenschaften / 620 Ingenieurwissenschaften und zugeordnete Tätigkeiten
Sammlungen:Universitätspublikationen
Licence (German):License LogoCreative Commons - CC BY-NC-ND - Namensnennung - Nicht kommerziell - Keine Bearbeitungen 4.0 International