Seasonal optimal mix of wind and solar power in a future, highly renewable Europe

The renewable power generation aggregated across Europe exhibits strong seasonal behaviors. Wind power generation is much stronger in winter than in summer. The opposite is true for solar power generation. In a future Europe with a very high share of renewable power generation those two opposite beh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Renewable energy 2010-11, Vol.35 (11), p.2483-2489
Main Authors: Heide, Dominik, von Bremen, Lueder, Greiner, Martin, Hoffmann, Clemens, Speckmann, Markus, Bofinger, Stefan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Economic data
Electric energy
Energy
Energy economics
Exact sciences and technology
General, economic and professional studies
Large-scale integration
Natural energy
Power-supply system design
Solar power generation
Storage
Wind power generation
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Summary:The renewable power generation aggregated across Europe exhibits strong seasonal behaviors. Wind power generation is much stronger in winter than in summer. The opposite is true for solar power generation. In a future Europe with a very high share of renewable power generation those two opposite behaviors are able to counterbalance each other to a certain extent to follow the seasonal load curve. The best point of counterbalancing represents the seasonal optimal mix between wind and solar power generation. It leads to a pronounced minimum in required stored energy. For a 100% renewable Europe the seasonal optimal mix becomes 55% wind and 45% solar power generation. For less than 100% renewable scenarios the fraction of wind power generation increases and that of solar power generation decreases.
ISSN:0960-1481
1879-0682
DOI:10.1016/j.renene.2010.03.012