Evaluating the Potential of Variable Renewable Energy for a Balanced Isolated Grid: A Japanese Case Study

Mai Inoue, Yutaka Genchi and Yuki Kudoh
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Mai Inoue: Research Institute of Science for Safety and Sustainability, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8569, Japan
Yutaka Genchi: Research Institute of Science for Safety and Sustainability, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8569, Japan
Yuki Kudoh: Research Institute of Science for Safety and Sustainability, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba 305-8569, Japan

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: There is a global push to develop renewable energy to further a low-carbon society. However, the nature of variable renewable energy (VRE) sources such as wind power and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems may create problems because electricity grids require a stable power supply to match demand. To evaluate the potential capacity of VREs that may be installed, we develop an optimized model that balances power supply and demand and also considers grid balancing by battery storage and load frequency control. The model was applied to a case study of an isolated grid on a remote Japanese island. When set to optimize the grid in terms of lowest cost, the model suggested that, compared with the base case, the capacity of wind power should be increased by a factor of 1.7 and 15.8 for situations without and with battery storage, respectively. Since it was always considered to be more expensive than wind power, no change in solar PV capacity was observed. These approaches resulted in a decrease in the total power generation cost of 2% and 24%, respectively, while total CO 2 emissions fell by 3% and 52%, primarily driven by decreased used of the existing fossil-fueled thermal plant.

Keywords: variable renewable energy; installed capacity; grid optimization; load frequency control; power cost; CO 2 emissions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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