Spatio-temporal potential of a biogenic micro CHP swarm in Switzerland

René Buffat and Martin Raubal

Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2019, vol. 103, issue C, 443-454

Abstract: Renewable electricity production from intermittent energy sources, such as wind and photovoltaic, is rapidly increasing worldwide. The Swiss Energy Strategy aims at generating roughly one-third of the current electricity demand through intermittent renewables by 2050. This raises the need for flexible on-demand power production capabilities to balance the fluctuating generation. Next to batteries or pumped-storage hydroelectricity, decentralized gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) plants have fast ramp-up times and can thus be used to balance the fluctuating production. Using biogas as fuel for the CHP plants minimizes greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, biomass is subject to spatio-temporal variation that can limit the available fuel. In this work, a framework of geographic information system (GIS)-based models to assess the spatio-temporal potential of domestic biogas to balance fluctuating renewable energy production is proposed. Using this framework, the spatio-temporal biogas that can be fed into the gas grid is modeled to be 18.4PJ. By comparing this potential with the spatio-temporal residential heat demand and rooftop PV potential, we identify the spatio-temporal balancing potential of decentralized CHP plants in Switzerland. It is found that the balancing potential varies between districts and over the course of a year. During summer, the potential is limited due to lack of local heat demand.

Keywords: Biogas; Ancillary services; Potential analysis; Geographic information system (GIS) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2018.12.038

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