Improving the Representation of Variable Renewable Energy in Energy System Models: A Comparison of Resource Classes and Increased Spatial Resolution

Abstract

The potential of variable renewable energy sources varies strongly depending on the site due to the local topology and land cover as well as the climate. The power transmission grid, however, connects the locality of production and consumption. The connected energy system can span across regions as large as the European continent with vast amounts of power traded. We suggest that resource classes are able to subdivide variable renewable energy potentials into disjoint quality classes of different feedin profiles and potentials to compensate a country-wide resolution. This allow us to separate variable renewable energy power plants into plants with higher and lower full load hours and thus to assess the system costs more diversely. This paper investigates the benefits of introducing resource classes with respect to the dispatch and choice of technologies using a high-resolution energy system model applied to Germany. The analysis shows that the introduction of resource classes are able to capture wind generation potential better at a low spatial resolution than . Additonally, the computational benefits of the resource classes are shown, since running highly resolved energy system models is computationally costly.

Keywords: Optimising energy system model, resource potential evaluation, wind turbine modelling