Capacity credit of storage in long-term planning models and capacity markets

Abstract

Capacity credits, i.e., metrics that describe the contribution of different technologies in meeting the load during peak periods, are widely used in the context of long-term energy-system optimization models to ensure a pre-defined level of firm capacity. In the same vain, such capacity credits may be used in capacity markets to reflect the availability of an asset during periods of peak load. For storage technologies it seems that there is a discrepancy between the capacity credit that correctly captures the capacity contribution to the capacity target, and the capacity credit that correctly values the storage capacity. This is illustrated in a case study, which shows the differences in planning model outcomes when different capacity credit interpretations are used. Our results indicate that defining the capacity credit according to the contribution to the capacity target overvalues storage technologies, causing overinvestments. On the contrary, defining the capacity credit to reflect the value of the storage capacity, triggers the correct amount of storage investments, but underestimates the true peak reduction potential, which results in overinvestments in other firm capacity providers. In this regard, a novel iterative approach is introduced that leverages both capacity credit interpretations simultaneously to remove any bias in the solution.