Title: Optimal strategies for a cost-effective and reliable 100% renewable electric grid

Abstract

This paper explores cost-optimal pathways to 100% renewable power systems for the U.S. building stock. We show that long-duration misalignments of supply and demand, spanning from multi-day to seasonal timescales, present a dominant challenge that must be addressed to meet real-time 100% renewable targets. While long-duration misalignments can be addressed through energy storage, we show that alternative and readily available solutions that are more cost-effective should be considered first. Through a techno-economic analysis, we identify cost-optimal, region-dependent, supply-side, and demand-side strategies that reduce, and in some U.S. regions eliminate, the otherwise substantial capacities and associated costs of long-duration energy storage. Investigated supply-side strategies include optimal mixes of renewable portfolios and oversized generation capacities. Considered demand-side strategies include building load flexibility and building energy efficiency investments. Our results reveal that building energy efficiency measures can reduce long-duration storage requirements at minimum total investment costs. In addition, oversizing and diversifying renewable generation can play a critical role in reducing storage requirements, remaining cost effective even when accounting for curtailed generation. We identify regionally dependent storage cost targets and show that for emerging long-duration energy storage innovations to achieve broad adoption, their costs will need to compete with the decreasing cost of renewables.more » The findings of this research are particularly important given that most long-duration storage technologies are currently either uneconomical, geologically constrained, or still underdeveloped.« less

Authors:

Houssainy, Sammy  ^[1];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-7738-3658"
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Livingood, William  ^[1]

• Search DOE PAGES for author "Livingood, William"
• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0001-8391-8201"
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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Publication Date:

2021-11-02

Research Org.:

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE

OSTI Identifier:

1834305

Alternate Identifier(s):

OSTI ID: 1828825

Report Number(s):

NREL/JA-5500-77733
Journal ID: ISSN 1941-7012; MainId:30648;UUID:f4c6d061-616b-49f8-a098-5ae109a898f4;MainAdminID:61804; TRN: US2300522

Grant/Contract Number:  

AC36-08GO28308

Resource Type:

Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Volume: 13; Journal Issue: 6; Journal ID: ISSN 1941-7012

Publisher:

American Institute of Physics (AIP)

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English

Subject:

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY; 100% renewable; demand flexibility; energy efficiency; energy storage; renewable energy