Different flexibility options for better system integration of wind power

Abstract

Variable renewable electricity (VRE) will play an important role in future energy systems, but additional flexibility measures will be needed to integrate large-scale VRE into energy systems. Here we investigate the effectiveness of different flexibility options to integrate wind power, using the Finnish energy system as a case. The main flexibility options considered are sector-coupling such as power-to-heat and power-to-gas, energy storages, and electric vehicles. The results indicate that the share of wind power could be increased up to one third of all electricity, limited by the cross-border transmission capacity and the high share of nuclear power in the Finnish case, while simultaneously decreasing annual system costs and carbon emissions. Power-to-heat and wind power curtailment were the most cost-effective flexibility options. Furthermore, combined heat and power (CHP) and nuclear power could form a barrier to cost-effective wind power integration, suggesting that viewing the energy system as a whole provides valuable insight for wind power integration.