Comparison of Profitability of PV Electricity Sharing in Renewable Energy Communities in Selected European Countries

Johannes Radl, Andreas Fleischhacker, Frida Huglen Revheim, Georg Lettner and Hans Auer
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Johannes Radl: Institute of Energy Systems and Electrical Drives, TU Wien, Gußhausstraße 25-29/E37003, 1040 Vienna, Austria
Andreas Fleischhacker: Institute of Energy Systems and Electrical Drives, TU Wien, Gußhausstraße 25-29/E37003, 1040 Vienna, Austria
Frida Huglen Revheim: Institute of Energy Systems and Electrical Drives, TU Wien, Gußhausstraße 25-29/E37003, 1040 Vienna, Austria
Georg Lettner: Institute of Energy Systems and Electrical Drives, TU Wien, Gußhausstraße 25-29/E37003, 1040 Vienna, Austria
Hans Auer: Institute of Energy Systems and Electrical Drives, TU Wien, Gußhausstraße 25-29/E37003, 1040 Vienna, Austria

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 19, 1-24

Abstract: The economic value of photovoltaic (PV) systems depends on country-specific conditions. This study investigates the impact of grid fees, solar irradiance and local consumption on the profitability and penetration of PV systems and batteries in renewable energy communities. The linear optimization model calculates the optimal investments into PV and storages applied on a test community, which represents the European housing situation. The comparison of eight countries considers individual heat and cooling demands as well as sector coupling. Results show that renewable energy communities have the potential to reduce electricity costs due to community investments and load aggregation but do not necessarily lead to more distributed PV. Besides full-load hours, the energy component of electricity tariffs has the highest impact on PV distribution. Under current market conditions, battery energy storage systems are rarely profitable for increasing PV self-consumption but there is potential with power pricing. Renewable energy communities enable individuals to be a prosumer without the necessity of owning a PV system. This could lead to more (community) PV investments in the short term. Hence, it hinders investments in a saturated PV market.

Keywords: electric energy sharing; renewable energy communities; grid tariff; PV; distributed energy resources; battery energy storage; portfolio investment optimization; sector coupling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

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