Presentations

Abstract

Guidehouse investigated the role that demand flexibility can play to reduce the mismatch between the supply of wind energy and demand. Different demand sectors were analysed and hourly demand profiles for electricity and heat were setup. Individual companies were clustered into business park archetypes. Flexibility sources considered included the use of demand management software in response to changing prices, charging of electric vehicles and trucks, industrial process heat, space heating and battery energy storage systems (BESS). Market trends and targets were analysed to inform expected adoption rates up to 2030. Specific constraints per technology and consumer type determine the flexibility potential on an hourly basis. The results show that the temporal match (or simultaneity) between wind energy supply and demand without demand flexibility is in the order of 45 - 55% (assuming the same nameplate capacity of the wind farm and peak electricity consumption). This means that about half of the supplied wind energy cannot be consumed simultaneously. By introducing electrification, demand flexibility and BESS, the match increases to 70-77%. The greatest contributors to increasing the match are the electrification of process heat and charging of trucks (heavy duty transport). Improvements delivered by the electrification of space heating and BESS were modest, at around 2%-point. Alternative forms of energy storage with a long duration such as Compressed Air Energy Storage, can significantly improve the match (up to an additional 15%-point). In conclusion, electrification can play a significant role to improve effective integration of wind energy in the energy system. Long-duration energy storage is a necessity to improve the simultaneity to more than 80%.