A Study of renewable power for a zero-carbon electricity system in Japan using a proposed integrated analysis model

In the present study, a scenario analysis is conducted for the future electricity system with a large amount of renewable power in Japan using a proposed integrated model with the aim of finding the best mix that produces the least amount of carbon and meets the future electricity demand. The final objective is to achieve a zero-carbon electricity system by the year of 2100, subject to various constrains of electricity grid technology, socio-economy, environment and resource availability. The power sources include solar, wind, nuclear, battery, fossil fuel, hydro and biomass. Under the certainty preconditions given in this study, the results of the analysis show that, (i) domestic renewable power can cover about 40% of the total electricity demand (ii) a large amount of Electric Vehicles (EV) can efficiently be used to level the electrical load during peaks in power supply and work as a back-up power source for renewable energy electricity; (iii) smart grid technology is necessary to manage the charge/discharge of EV batteries and adjust the output of clean thermoelectricity and battery according to some important information such as end-user demand and output forecasts of renewable energy power (solar and wind) in different weather situations.