The impact of RES integration on balancing markets

Abstract

The high share of renewable energy sources in electricity systems and their volatile output can influence the balance between supply and demand. In this paper, historical balancing market data of the Netherlands and Germany are analysed to investigate the influence of renewable energy sources on the balancing market in countries with a high share of renewable energy sources in the last decade. The balancing market works differently in these two countries. The data on imbalance volume, imbalance prices, balancing responsible party’s bid price and supply of renewable energy sources to the grid are analysed for each country. The results show that although the increase in the supply of renewable energy sources has increased the imbalance volume and imbalance costs in the Netherlands, it is not the only important factor. Different balancing market designs can react differently to a high supply of renewable energy sources, as shown in the German and the Netherlands case study.