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Representation of short-term solar and wind variability in long-term energy models – a European case study

Operation of the SUMO system on Svalbard
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Joachim Reuder

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Ph.D. candidate Hans-Kristian Ringkjøb from the geophysical institute will present "European energy systems".

Abstract:

Europe’s energy system is undergoing rapid changes. Over the past two decades, driven by efforts to mitigate climate change as well as large cost reductions and technological development of zero emission technologies, integration of intermittent renewables, especially solar and wind, have grown rapidly. Solar and wind are projected to continue their expansion, and are expected to possess a large share of the energy mix towards 2050. However, solar and wind are variable renewable energy sources whose outputs vary according to the weather. This variability leads to several challenges ranging from short-term system operation to planning of future energy systems over the course of several decades. Long-term energy models are frequently used to investigate pathways to future energy systems and as the share of solar and wind technologies in the energy mix continues to grow, it becomes increasingly important to adequately represent their short-term variability in such models. In this work, we assess the representation of short-term solar and wind variability in a TIMES long-term energy model of the European power and district heat sector towards 2050. The aim of the work is to explore how various modelling approaches as well as different temporal resolutions influence the model performance, and at the same time, how grid interconnections and energy storage can help accommodate for large shares of variable renewables in the European energy system in the future.  

The seminar will be held in the Helland-Hansen meeting room at the Geophysical Institute, Allegaten 70, from 12:15 to 13:00 (we open the doors at 12:00).

The seminar is free and open to all interested parties, so bring your lunch and join us for an interesting presentation followed by a Q&A session.