Long-Term Storage: CEER “European Green Deal” White Paper

 

15 February 2021


Today, CEER publishes its White Paper on Long-Term Storage, the first CEER-only White Paper in the “European Green Deal” series. This paper takes into consideration the increasing share of variable renewable energies in the energy mix given decarbonisation. Due to their seasonal generation patterns, they increase the need for solutions that provide seasonal adequacy and help to guarantee security of supply throughout the whole year. Long-term storage is one such solution. At the same time, solutions should also conform with decarbonisation goals. The paper reached the following 6 conclusions:

•    Considering an efficient and well-planned phase out of the current thermal production, there should be no foreseeable additional demand for long-term electricity storage until 2040 on an averaged European scale;
•    The EU’s viable pumped hydropower potential only provides a limited amount of the long-term storage needs in a 100% renewable energy sources (RES) scenario;
•    The gas storages available today are enough to balance the EU gas and electricity consumption over a year. The current gas storage capacity widely exceeds the potential electricity demand for storage until 2040;
•    Interconnectors help to reduce short-term flexibility needs but should not significantly reduce the need for long-term storage;
•    The ratio between installed photovoltaic (PV) and wind power capacities has a significant impact on long-term storage needs; and
•    Power-to-gas (P2G) facilities, as purely market-driven long-term storage activities, will not be economically viable for a long time to come.

Given this, CEER recommends that:

•    Regulations should establish a level playing field between long-term storage and other seasonal adequacy approaches (i.e. excess generation assets, flexibility and storage); and
•    Storage and sector coupling technologies should be integrated in a more detailed way in planning models (e.g. integrated electricity and gas market and network model, Ten-Year Network Development Plan (TYNDP)).

Please find the full paper (and the first two ACER-CEER white papers) here.

Contact:

 brussels@ceer.eu

Tel: +32 2 788 73 30

www.ceer.eu

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