IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v179y2021icp1065-1075.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The cost of grid stability with 100 % clean, renewable energy for all purposes when countries are isolated versus interconnected

Author

Listed:
  • Jacobson, Mark Z.

Abstract

This study examines the impacts on energy costs and requirements of interconnecting versus isolating the electric grids of countries in Western Europe when each country's all-purpose energy is provided by 100 % wind, water, and sunlight (WWS). A weather model is used to predict wind and solar fields and building heat and cold loads. A grid model is used to match electricity, heat, cold, and hydrogen demand with WWS supply; electricity, heat, cold, and hydrogen storage; and demand response. Stable solutions are found for all countries, including the smallest (Luxembourg and Gibraltar) and largest (France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and the United Kingdom), and for all combinations of countries. Results indicate that interconnecting countries reduces aggregate annual energy costs, overbuilding of generators and storage, energy shedding, and land/water area requirements in most, but not all, situations. Interconnecting Western Europe may decrease aggregate annual energy costs ∼13 % relative to isolating each country. The best reductions are found by interconnecting hydropower-rich Norway with Denmark (20.6 %) and Northwestern Europe (13.7 %). Interconnecting the smallest countries, Luxembourg and Gibraltar, with larger countries benefits all countries. Whether isolated or interconnected, all countries examined, including France and Germany, can maintain a stable grid at low cost with 100 % WWS.

Suggested Citation

  • Jacobson, Mark Z., 2021. "The cost of grid stability with 100 % clean, renewable energy for all purposes when countries are isolated versus interconnected," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 1065-1075.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:179:y:2021:i:c:p:1065-1075
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2021.07.115
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148121011204
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2021.07.115?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Toktarova, Alla & Breyer, Christian, 2019. "Transition towards 100% renewable power and heat supply for energy intensive economies and severe continental climate conditions: Case for Kazakhstan," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C), pages 1-1.
    2. Connolly, D. & Lund, H. & Mathiesen, B.V., 2016. "Smart Energy Europe: The technical and economic impact of one potential 100% renewable energy scenario for the European Union," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1634-1653.
    3. Mathiesen, Brian Vad & Lund, Henrik & Karlsson, Kenneth, 2011. "100% Renewable energy systems, climate mitigation and economic growth," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 488-501, February.
    4. Esteban, Miguel & Portugal-Pereira, Joana & Mclellan, Benjamin C. & Bricker, Jeremy & Farzaneh, Hooman & Djalilova, Nigora & Ishihara, Keiichi N. & Takagi, Hiroshi & Roeber, Volker, 2018. "100% renewable energy system in Japan: Smoothening and ancillary services," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 698-707.
    5. Grossmann, Wolf D. & Grossmann, Iris & Steininger, Karl W., 2013. "Distributed solar electricity generation across large geographic areas, Part I: A method to optimize site selection, generation and storage," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 25(C), pages 831-843.
    6. Connolly, D. & Lund, H. & Mathiesen, B.V. & Leahy, M., 2011. "The first step towards a 100% renewable energy-system for Ireland," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(2), pages 502-507, February.
    7. Becker, Sarah & Frew, Bethany A. & Andresen, Gorm B. & Zeyer, Timo & Schramm, Stefan & Greiner, Martin & Jacobson, Mark Z., 2014. "Features of a fully renewable US electricity system: Optimized mixes of wind and solar PV and transmission grid extensions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 443-458.
    8. Jacobson, Mark Z. & Delucchi, Mark A. & Cameron, Mary A. & Mathiesen, Brian V., 2018. "Matching demand with supply at low cost in 139 countries among 20 world regions with 100% intermittent wind, water, and sunlight (WWS) for all purposes," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 236-248.
    9. Lund, H. & Mathiesen, B.V., 2009. "Energy system analysis of 100% renewable energy systems—The case of Denmark in years 2030 and 2050," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 524-531.
    10. Mathiesen, B.V. & Lund, H. & Connolly, D. & Wenzel, H. & Østergaard, P.A. & Möller, B. & Nielsen, S. & Ridjan, I. & Karnøe, P. & Sperling, K. & Hvelplund, F.K., 2015. "Smart Energy Systems for coherent 100% renewable energy and transport solutions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 139-154.
    11. Elliston, Ben & MacGill, Iain & Diesendorf, Mark, 2014. "Comparing least cost scenarios for 100% renewable electricity with low emission fossil fuel scenarios in the Australian National Electricity Market," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 196-204.
    12. Blakers, Andrew & Lu, Bin & Stocks, Matthew, 2017. "100% renewable electricity in Australia," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 471-482.
    13. Sadiqa, Ayesha & Gulagi, Ashish & Breyer, Christian, 2018. "Energy transition roadmap towards 100% renewable energy and role of storage technologies for Pakistan by 2050," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 518-533.
    14. Aghahosseini, Arman & Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Barbosa, Larissa S.N.S. & Breyer, Christian, 2019. "Analysing the feasibility of powering the Americas with renewable energy and inter-regional grid interconnections by 2030," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 187-205.
    15. Steinke, Florian & Wolfrum, Philipp & Hoffmann, Clemens, 2013. "Grid vs. storage in a 100% renewable Europe," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 826-832.
    16. Hart, Elaine K. & Jacobson, Mark Z., 2011. "A Monte Carlo approach to generator portfolio planning and carbon emissions assessments of systems with large penetrations of variable renewables," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(8), pages 2278-2286.
    17. Liu, Hailiang & Andresen, Gorm Bruun & Greiner, Martin, 2018. "Cost-optimal design of a simplified highly renewable Chinese electricity network," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 534-546.
    18. Mason, I.G. & Page, S.C. & Williamson, A.G., 2010. "A 100% renewable electricity generation system for New Zealand utilising hydro, wind, geothermal and biomass resources," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 3973-3984, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Pampa Sinha & Kaushik Paul & Sanchari Deb & Sulabh Sachan, 2023. "Comprehensive Review Based on the Impact of Integrating Electric Vehicle and Renewable Energy Sources to the Grid," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-39, March.
    2. Damien Guilbert & Gianpaolo Vitale, 2021. "Hydrogen as a Clean and Sustainable Energy Vector for Global Transition from Fossil-Based to Zero-Carbon," Clean Technol., MDPI, vol. 3(4), pages 1-29, December.
    3. Joseph Akpan & Oludolapo Olanrewaju, 2023. "Towards a Common Methodology and Modelling Tool for 100% Renewable Energy Analysis: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-42, September.
    4. Jacobson, Mark Z. & von Krauland, Anna-Katharina & Coughlin, Stephen J. & Palmer, Frances C. & Smith, Miles M., 2022. "Zero air pollution and zero carbon from all energy at low cost and without blackouts in variable weather throughout the U.S. with 100% wind-water-solar and storage," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 430-442.
    5. Lamnatou, Chr. & Cristofari, C. & Chemisana, D., 2024. "Renewable energy sources as a catalyst for energy transition: Technological innovations and an example of the energy transition in France," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    6. Javed, Muhammad Shahzad & Jurasz, Jakub & McPherson, Madeleine & Dai, Yanjun & Ma, Tao, 2022. "Quantitative evaluation of renewable-energy-based remote microgrids: curtailment, load shifting, and reliability," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    7. López Prol, Javier & Steininger, Karl W. & Williges, Keith & Grossmann, Wolf D. & Grossmann, Iris, 2023. "Potential gains of long-distance trade in electricity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    8. dos Santos, Fábio Sandro & do Nascimento, Kerolly Kedma Felix & da Silva Jale, Jader & Xavier, Sílvio Fernando Alves & Ferreira, Tiago A.E., 2024. "Brazilian wind energy generation potential using mixtures of Weibull distributions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PB).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mark Z. Jacobson & Anna-Katharina von Krauland & Zachary F.M. Burton & Stephen J. Coughlin & Caitlin Jaeggli & Daniel Nelli & Alexander J. H. Nelson & Yanbo Shu & Miles Smith & Chor Tan & Connery D. W, 2020. "Transitioning All Energy in 74 Metropolitan Areas, Including 30 Megacities, to 100% Clean and Renewable Wind, Water, and Sunlight (WWS)," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-40, September.
    2. Jacobson, Mark Z. & von Krauland, Anna-Katharina & Coughlin, Stephen J. & Palmer, Frances C. & Smith, Miles M., 2022. "Zero air pollution and zero carbon from all energy at low cost and without blackouts in variable weather throughout the U.S. with 100% wind-water-solar and storage," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 430-442.
    3. Hansen, Kenneth & Breyer, Christian & Lund, Henrik, 2019. "Status and perspectives on 100% renewable energy systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 471-480.
    4. Maruf, Md. Nasimul Islam, 2021. "Open model-based analysis of a 100% renewable and sector-coupled energy system–The case of Germany in 2050," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 288(C).
    5. Jacobson, Mark Z. & Delucchi, Mark A. & Cameron, Mary A. & Mathiesen, Brian V., 2018. "Matching demand with supply at low cost in 139 countries among 20 world regions with 100% intermittent wind, water, and sunlight (WWS) for all purposes," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 236-248.
    6. Diesendorf, Mark & Elliston, Ben, 2018. "The feasibility of 100% renewable electricity systems: A response to critics," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 318-330.
    7. Zappa, William & Junginger, Martin & van den Broek, Machteld, 2019. "Is a 100% renewable European power system feasible by 2050?," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233, pages 1027-1050.
    8. Østergaard, P.A. & Lund, H. & Thellufsen, J.Z. & Sorknæs, P. & Mathiesen, B.V., 2022. "Review and validation of EnergyPLAN," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    9. Copp, David A. & Nguyen, Tu A. & Byrne, Raymond H. & Chalamala, Babu R., 2022. "Optimal sizing of distributed energy resources for planning 100% renewable electric power systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PE).
    10. Henning Meschede & Paul Bertheau & Siavash Khalili & Christian Breyer, 2022. "A review of 100% renewable energy scenarios on islands," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Energy and Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 11(6), November.
    11. Cárdenas, Bruno & Swinfen-Styles, Lawrie & Rouse, James & Hoskin, Adam & Xu, Weiqing & Garvey, S.D., 2021. "Energy storage capacity vs. renewable penetration: A study for the UK," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 849-867.
    12. Connolly, D. & Lund, H. & Mathiesen, B.V., 2016. "Smart Energy Europe: The technical and economic impact of one potential 100% renewable energy scenario for the European Union," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 1634-1653.
    13. Badami, Marco & Fambri, Gabriele, 2019. "Optimising energy flows and synergies between energy networks," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 400-412.
    14. Heard, B.P. & Brook, B.W. & Wigley, T.M.L. & Bradshaw, C.J.A., 2017. "Burden of proof: A comprehensive review of the feasibility of 100% renewable-electricity systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 1122-1133.
    15. Hansen, Kenneth & Mathiesen, Brian Vad & Skov, Iva Ridjan, 2019. "Full energy system transition towards 100% renewable energy in Germany in 2050," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 1-13.
    16. Lopez, Gabriel & Aghahosseini, Arman & Child, Michael & Khalili, Siavash & Fasihi, Mahdi & Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Breyer, Christian, 2022. "Impacts of model structure, framework, and flexibility on perspectives of 100% renewable energy transition decision-making," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    17. Bogdanov, Dmitrii & Gulagi, Ashish & Fasihi, Mahdi & Breyer, Christian, 2021. "Full energy sector transition towards 100% renewable energy supply: Integrating power, heat, transport and industry sectors including desalination," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    18. Md. Nasimul Islam Maruf, 2019. "Sector Coupling in the North Sea Region—A Review on the Energy System Modelling Perspective," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-35, November.
    19. Ma, Weiwu & Xue, Xinpei & Liu, Gang, 2018. "Techno-economic evaluation for hybrid renewable energy system: Application and merits," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 385-409.
    20. Lund, Henrik & Thellufsen, Jakob Zinck & Sorknæs, Peter & Mathiesen, Brian Vad & Chang, Miguel & Madsen, Poul Thøis & Kany, Mikkel Strunge & Skov, Iva Ridjan, 2022. "Smart energy Denmark. A consistent and detailed strategy for a fully decarbonized society," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:179:y:2021:i:c:p:1065-1075. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.