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System-friendly wind power: How advanced wind turbine design can increase the economic value of electricity generated through wind power

  • Previous studies find that the economic value of electricity (USD/MWh) generated by wind power drops with increasing market share. Different measures can help mitigate the value drop, including electricity storage, flexible conventional plants, expansion of transmission, and demand response. This study assesses another option: a change in design of wind power plants. “Advanced” wind turbines that are higher and have a larger rotor compared to rated capacity (lower specific rating) generate electricity more constantly than “classical” turbines. Recent years have witnessed a significant shift towards such advanced technology. Our model-based analysis for Northwestern Europe shows that such design can substantially increase the spot market value of generated electricity. At a 30% penetration rate, the value of 1 MWh of electricity generated from a fleet of advanced turbines is estimated to be 15% higher than the value of 1 MWh from classical turbines. The additional value is large, whether compared to wind generation costs, to the value drop, or to the effect of alternative measures such as electricity storage. Extensive sensitivity tests indicate that this finding is remarkably robust. The increase in bulk power value is not the only advantage of advanced turbines: additional benefits might accrue from reduced costs for power grids and balancing services. To fully realize this potential, power markets and support policies need to be appropriately designed and signal scarcity investors.

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Metadaten
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Author(s):Lion HirthORCiD, Simon Müller
Parent Title (English):Energy Economics
ISSN:0140-9883
Publisher:Elsevier B.V.
Publication year:2016
Publishing Institution:Hertie School
First Page:51
Last Page:63
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2016.02.016
Release Date:2017/07/24
Tag:Market value; Power market modeling; Variable renewables; Wind power
Volume:56
Notes:
This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Energy Economics. The final authenticated version is available online at: DOI 10.1016/j.eneco.2016.02.016
Hertie School Research:Centre for Sustainability
Licence of document (German):Metadaten (öffentlich), post-print
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