Impact of renewable energies on conventional power generation technologies and infrastructures from a long-term least-cost perspective

This paper analyses in two scenarios the impacts that climate policies, especially the support of renewable energies and the price of carbon, will have on the European electricity system. A central focus is the impact that electricity generated from renewable energy sources (RES-E) on other system components such as conventional power generation technologies, transmission grids and electricity storage facilities. For the analysis in this paper detailed feed-in profiles for each hour of the year are derived for fluctuating generation from wind and solar power based on actual meteorological data from weather stations and satellites. The model PowerACE-Europe simulates all year simultaneously in hourly resolution, covering each country of the EU-27 as well as Norway and Switzerland. The model calculates the least-cost solution for meeting demand in every hour by simulating investment in power generation technologies, grids and storages by solving a large linear problem through interior-point optimization.