Will large-scale #batteries store the energy when it is cheap and sell it back when expensive? My short answer is no.
A short thread. (1/10)
Volatility is on the rise with renewables, especially solar. Just check what happened last week in Europe. Very low and negative prices all other Europe for lunch. (2/10)
Solar was clearly one of the main factors. The residual load in Germany getting close to zero (negative in the Netherlands). (3/10)
So, we are at the age of the canyon curve... (4/10)
Should we install large-scale batteries to store excess energy and gives it back during the evening?
No, it is far from making economic sense today (happy to discuss assumptions). Basically, one spread per day is not enough to justify investing in large-scale batteries. (5/10)
I am not the only one to say that, I believe. @iain_staffell (6/10)
Or check the calculated revenues in this great study (sciencedirect.com/science/articl…). Far from justifying investing in large-scale batteries. (7/10)
Should we do any large-scale batteries? Yes, we should! But not for energy arbitrage...but for power reserves, very-short term portfolio management (balancing, intraday), renewables integration, grid congestion, ... Just not to store a lot of energy and give it back later. (8/10)
But probably the true potential is with Electric Vehicles. The stored energy would be much larger...of course, these batteries are not primarily made for that, so the potential is much lower. Still, great potential...if we have incitative tariffs. (9/10) @RWTH
If you like this thread, you can follow my work here: (10/10)
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You think that it is not right when people use LCOE to compare solar and nuclear?
You are right. But you should extend the reasoning behind that to all aspects
The core reason is the time-varying nature of the electricity value.
Let's explore 🧵
1/11
Historically, the electricity value was quite constant. When you burn stuff, the cost is relatively flat. See here for a random week in Germany 2017. For days, the hourly price does not vary more than 5 €/MWh
(but it crashed already in the weekend as we burned less)
2/11
Fast-forward to today, you have the hourly price of electricity that varies from - 60 to +120 €/MWh in the same week (without speaking about intraday and balancing markets).
That's because renewables are much more present. When you burn less stuff, prices start to move
Rooftop solar in Germany is going to have a massive impact on electricity markets.
It is expected that close to 96 GW of solar will be installed.
And this is rooftop solar is very inflexible.
1/5
It is inflexible because you will receive a fixed amount independent of the markt price. From 6 to 13 c€/kWh, depending on the size and if you auto-consume or not.
2/5
The issue is that if you give a fixed amount without considering the market price, you do not incentivize flexibility at all.
Well, already many instances with prices at 0 when it is sunny.