The application of power-to-gas, pumped hydro storage and compressed air energy storage in an electricity system at different wind power penetration levels

Many countries worldwide have committed themselves to reducing the rate in which they emit greenhouse gasses. These emissions are the major driver behind human induced global warming. Renewable electricity implementation is one way of reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. However, this transition is also accompanied by some problems. The intermittency of renewables demands for a more flexible electricity system. In existing electricity systems this lack of flexibility already leads to load balancing issues increasing costs and threatening energy security. Large scale storage facilities could provide the needed flexibility. This paper focuses on the economic and environmental system consequences of the application of power-to-gas, pumped hydro storage and compressed air energy storage in an electricity system at different wind power penetration levels. The study shows that the application of large scale energy storage techniques results in economic costs reducing effects on the electricity system. These are highest for pumped hydro storage, followed by the cost reducing effects of compressed air energy storage and power-to-gas. The impact on the fuel use and the emissions is less obvious. In some scenarios, the application of storage even resulted in an increase of the fuel use and the emissions. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.