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In this paper we demonstrate the role of electricity storage for the integration of high shares of Variable Renewable Energy Sources (VRES 3) in the long-term evolution of the power system. For this a new electricity module is developed in POLES (Prospective Outlook on Long-term Energy Systems). It now takes into account the impacts of VRES on the European power system. The power system operation relies on EUCAD (European Unit Commitment And Dispatch), which includes daily storage and other inter-temporal constraints. The innovative aspect of our work is the direct coupling between POLES and EUCAD, thus combining a long-term simulation horizon and a short-term approach for the power system operation. The storage technologies represented are pumped-hydro storage, lithium-ion batteries, adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage (a-CAES) and electric vehicles (charging optimisation and vehicle-to-grid). Demand response and European grid interconnections are also represented, in order to include to some extent these flexibility options. 2 Disclaimer: The views expressed are purely those of the writer and may not in any circumstances be regarded as stating an official position of the European Commission. 3 Abbreviations: a-CAES: adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage CCS: Carbon Capture and Storage International audience

International audience; This preface introduces the special section on the assessment of wind and solar in global low-carbon energy scenarios. The special section documents the results of a coordinated research effort to improve the representation of variable renewable energies (VRE), including wind and solar power, in Integrated Assessment Models (IAM) and presents an overview of the results obtained in the underlying coordinated model inter-comparison exercise.

This paper presents a new power sector module, called EUTGRID, which is coupled with the long-term energy model POLES to deliver a suitable framework for considering grid aspects in energy modelling allowing for more distinct analysis of energy technology development and energy policy. It includes a mechanism of investment in transmission grids based on nodal prices together with a DC-load flow and a more detailed description of the European transmission grid. The methodology goes beyond “conventional” energy systems modelling, where the electricity grid is usually represented as a copper plate.The results show that within a climate policy scenario, the grid investment needs reach 454b$ for 2010–2080 as regions with high share of VREs require new interconnections. The role of the transmission grid in reducing variable system costs and VREs curtailment is also assessed. Delaying the investments may result in non-distributed energy and the need of more back-up carbon technologies. International audience

International audience; The aim of this article is to take into account short-term power grid operation conditions in long-term prospective analysis in the case of France. It is the first time that the integration of system adequacy and transient stability has been achieved in prospective studies for an electro intensive country, following studies conducted on Reunion Island. The methodology relies on a quantitative assessment of the French power sector's reliability through an endogenous definition of a reliability indicator related to kinetic reserves into an Energy System Optimization Model (ESOM), TIMES-FR model. The result gives an overview of how the stability of the grid is maintained with an increasing share of renewables using additional backup and flexible options. We observe that it is technically possible to achieve around 65% of Variable Renewable Energy sources (VREs) in the installed capacity without impairing the reliability of the system. In more detail, the maximum VRE in total hourly power production that complies with the reliability constraint was assessed as around 84% in the 100 EnR scenario. However, in order to guarantee this system reliability, the cumulated new installed capacity, in a scenario with 100% renewable energy sources (RES) in the power mix, would represent the double of the Business-As-Usual (BAU) scenario over the period 2013-2050. Therefore, major upstream planning would be needed, and that more flexible options i.e. demand-response, storage technologies and interconnections or substitute or additional plants should be considered to satisfy the reliability constraint at any time by providing extra inertia to the system. This modelling exercise shows the importance of power exchanges with neighbours with higher share of RE in the power production.

Abstract Technical constraints related to power systems management may limit the high integration of variable renewable energy sources in the power mix. This issue is addressed for the Reunion Island, which aims to reach energy independence by 2030 using 100 % renewables. To that end, a long-term power system analysis is proposed using a comprehensive and coherent approach based on a bottom-up TIMES model providing future production mixes according to different scenarios. A transient reliability indicator based on kinetic energy is proposed and endogenized within the model. In addition, a dedicated Kuramoto model describes the synchronism condition required for aggregating the kinetic energy embedded in the whole power system. For the case of Reunion island, this methodology draws the following conclusions: (i) to achieve the 100 % renewables target, the capacity to invest in the energy sector is doubled, and the level of reliability decreases considerably; (ii) the loss of reliability induced by higher intermittency— typically 50 % —in the power mix can be counter balanced and leveraged by implementing flexibility solutions (demand response and storage).

This article studies the integration of variable renewable energy sources (RES) into power networks. The main goal is to confront the contents and trends of scientific literature with the eyes and projects of researchers on future topics and issues to be solved, especially in terms of the modeling of electrical systems. The analysis relies on a bibliometric study of the Scopus database on the topic and on an online survey sent to the corresponding authors of the identified papers. The paper analyzes the dynamics of publication, clusters of collaboration, and main topics studied. It then identifies potential research leads, among which unresolved challenges regarding technical aspects, markets and financing issues, and social aspects. The disparity of models and results is still a necessary evil as research is not mature enough to integrate in one model all the very complex parameters of VRE integration into power systems. There is a lack of recurrence, though, such as the impact of emergent technologies or the development of substitute low carbon-emitting technology (other than solar and wind), need to be addressed. The paper also advocates the need for a systemic vision, for both research and policymakers that goes beyond the sole power system. International audience

This paper reports the recent work carried out to engage both the environmental impact and the economic indicators on the prioritisation of dispatchable technologies in the European energy mix up to 2050. Those two contradictory indicators are incorporated in a multi-criteria optimisation leading to iterations of two scenario: business as usual and 2 °C climate policy. The results present the evolution of the climate change emission versus the operational costs of the power system up to 2050. The yearly electricity mix evaluations allow assessing the long-term development of the European energy system, where a focus is done on variable renewable energy production. It is shown that policy-only solutions, associated with a traditional cost-oriented optimisation, have a limited impact on helping the power sector to reach emission levels targets. Integrating the objective of reducing emissions to the management of power plants would reduce the absolute and cumulative carbon dioxide equivalent emissions. The counterpart is that the system electricity price tends to increase faster thus implying increased social costs. International audience