Repository logo

Infoscience

  • English
  • French
Log In
Logo EPFL, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne

Infoscience

  • English
  • French
Log In
  1. Home
  2. Academic and Research Output
  3. Journal articles
  4. On the role of energy infrastructure in the energy transition. Case study of an energy independent and CO2 neutral energy system for Switzerland
 
research article

On the role of energy infrastructure in the energy transition. Case study of an energy independent and CO2 neutral energy system for Switzerland

Schnidrig, Jonas  
•
Cherkaoui, Rachid  
•
Calisesi, Yasmine  
Show more
2023
Frontiers in Energy Research

The transition towards renewable energy is leading to an important strain on the energy grids. The question of designing and deploying renewable energy technologies in symbiosis with existing grids and infrastructure is arising. While current energy system models mainly focus on the energy transformation system or only investigate the effect on one energy vector grid, we present a methodology to characterize different energy vector grids and storage, integrated into the multi-energy and multi-sector modeling framework EnergyScope. The characterization of energy grids is achieved through a traditional energy technology and grid modeling approach, integrating economic and technical parameters. The methodology has been applied to the case study of a country with a high existing transmission infrastructure density, e.g., Switzerland, switching from a fossil fuel-based system to a high share of renewable energy deployment. The results show that the economic optimum with high shares of renewable energy requires the electric distribution grid reinforcement with 2.439 GW (+61%) Low Voltage (LV) and 4.626 GW (+82%) Medium Voltage (MV), with no reinforcement required at transmission level [High Voltage (HV) and Extra High Voltage (EHV)]. The reinforcement is due to high shares of LV-Photovoltaic (PV) (15.4 GW) and MV-wind (20 GW) deployment. Without reinforcement, additional biomass is required for methane production, which is stored in 4.8–5.95 TWh methane storage tanks to compensate for seasonal intermittency using the existing gas infrastructure. In contrast, hydro storage capacity is used at a maximum of 8.9 TWh. Furthermore, the choice of less efficient technologies to avoid reinforcement results in a 8.5%–9.3% cost penalty compared to the cost of the reinforced system. This study considers a geographically averaged and aggregated model, assuming all production and consumption are made in one single spot, not considering the role of future decentralization of the energy system, leading to a possible overestimation of grid reinforcement needs.

  • Files
  • Details
  • Metrics
Type
research article
DOI
10.3389/fenrg.2023.1164813
Author(s)
Schnidrig, Jonas  
Cherkaoui, Rachid  
Calisesi, Yasmine  
Margni, Manuele  
Maréchal, François  
Date Issued

2023

Published in
Frontiers in Energy Research
Volume

11

Subjects

carbon neutrality

•

energy planning

•

energy transition

•

grid, infrastructure

•

mixed-integer linear programming optimization

•

storage

•

reinforcement

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
SCI-STI-FM  
FunderGrant Number

Swiss federal funding

Sl/502039-01

Industry funding

FOGA-0305

RelationURL/DOI

IsSupplementedBy

https://gitlab.com/ipese/on-the-role-of-energy-infrastructure-in-the-energy-transition
Available on Infoscience
June 15, 2023
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/198278
Logo EPFL, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
  • Contact
  • infoscience@epfl.ch

  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Follow us on LinkedIn
  • Follow us on X
  • Follow us on Youtube
AccessibilityLegal noticePrivacy policyCookie settingsEnd User AgreementGet helpFeedback

Infoscience is a service managed and provided by the Library and IT Services of EPFL. © EPFL, tous droits réservés