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Renewable energy intermittency and its impact on thermal generation

Author

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  • Christoph Graf
  • Claudio Marcantonini

Abstract

Electricity production from renewable sources generally displaces thermal generation, which leads to lower CO2 emissions in the power sector. However, the intermittent nature of many renewable technologies leads to greater inefficiencies in the operation of existing fossil power plants. This inefficiency translates into higher production costs as well as a higher rate of emissions relative to output. In this paper we focus on Italian power installations. Using panel econometrics, we show that a 10% increase in photovoltaics and wind infeed has reduced yearly CO2 emissions of the average thermal installation by about 4% while the average plants emissions relative to its output have increased by about 0.3% between 2005 and 2014. Given the additional inefficiency caused by intermittent renewables, our results suggest that the average installation actually only achieves around 94% of the expected reductions. The effect is more pronounced for installations that have not been retrofitted and for installations serving peak demand.

Suggested Citation

  • Christoph Graf & Claudio Marcantonini, 2016. "Renewable energy intermittency and its impact on thermal generation," RSCAS Working Papers 2016/16, European University Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:rsc:rsceui:2016/16
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    Cited by:

    1. Cyril Martin de Lagarde & Frédéric Lantz, 2017. "Impact of Variable Renewable Production on Electriciy Prices in Germany : A Markov Switching Model," Working Papers hal-03187020, HAL.
    2. Germeshausen, Robert, 2018. "The European Union emissions trading scheme and fuel efficiency of fossil fuel power plants in Germany," ZEW Discussion Papers 18-007, ZEW - Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Emission factors; load-cycling; inefficiency;
    All these keywords.

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