Features of a fully renewable US electricity system: Optimized mixes of wind and solar PV and transmission grid extensions

Sarah Becker, Bethany A. Frew, Gorm B. Andresen, Timo Zeyer, Stefan Schramm, Martin Greiner and Mark Z. Jacobson

Energy, 2014, vol. 72, issue C, 443-458

Abstract: A future energy system is likely to rely heavily on wind and solar PV. To quantify general features of such a weather dependent electricity supply in the contiguous US, wind and solar PV generation data are calculated, based on 32 years of weather data with temporal resolution of 1h and spatial resolution of 40×40km2, assuming site-suitability-based and stochastic wind and solar capacity distributions. The regional wind-and-solar mixes matching load and generation closest on seasonal timescales cluster around 80% solar share, owing to the US summer load peak. This mix more than halves long-term storage requirements, compared to wind only. The mixes matching generation and load best on daily timescales lie at about 80% wind share, due to the nightly gap in solar production. Going from solar only to this mix reduces backup energy needs by about 50%. Furthermore, we calculate shifts in FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)-level LCOE (Levelized Costs Of Electricity) for wind and solar PV due to differing weather conditions. Regional LCOE vary by up to 29%, and LCOE-optimal mixes largely follow resource quality. A transmission network enhancement among FERC regions is constructed to transfer high penetrations of solar and wind across FERC boundaries, employing a novel least-cost optimization.

Keywords: Energy system design; Large-scale integration of renewable power generation; Wind power generation; Solar PV power generation; Power transmission (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (68)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:72:y:2014:i:c:p:443-458

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2014.05.067

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