GRIDTECH - Impact Assessment of new technologies to Foster reselectricity integration into the European Transmission System

  • Dates: April 2012 – April 2015 
  • Project web: http://www.gridtech.eu
  • Leader: CIRCE 
  • Grant agreement number:
  • Funded by

     

DESCRIPTION

The analysis carried out by the project concentrates on both RES-Electricity generation technologies (especially RES-Electricity with high unexploited potentials in Europe like onshore-wind, offshore-wind and solar) and those technologies qualified to improve European transmission network control and smart electricity system operation (bulk storage technologies, but also FACTS and HVDC). The time horizon of analyses in GridTech is the short-medium term (2020), but also with an eye in projection to the long term (2030, 2050).

The methodology applied in GridTech is an in-depth analysis of the cost and benefits of the implementation of new technologies into the European transmission system, to be developed in 7 target countries of strategic importance

Germany: currently the European leader on installed wind capacity (also PV).
Spain:  One of the highest installed wind capacities in Europe and high potential of solar-CSP.
Italy:  High relevance in terms of better transmission interconnection to Northern Africa and the Western Balkan countries.
The Netherlands: high wind resource potentials.  Plays a considerable role in the design of the future offshore-grid in the North Sea.
Ireland: high wind potentials. Lack of adequate interconnection (island situation)
Bulgaria: Strategic importance to balance the electricity systems in the South-East of Europe.
Austria: High shares/potentials on Pumped-Hydro Storage power which can be connected with the high wind potentials of northern Europe and the high solar-CSP potentials of southern Europe.

OBJECTIVES

The major objective of GridTech is to conduct a fully integrated impact assessment of the implementation of new technologies (RES-E generation, energy storage, transmission network technologies) into the European electricity system, necessary to exploit the full potential of future RES-E generation across Europe up to 2020 and beyond, minimizing the electricity system cost.

The project will address the following questions, for the short and long term:

  • Major non-technical shortcomings/barriers of the current market regulations, and transmission grid planning and operation practises for market-compatible RES-Electricity grid and market integration.
  • Level of sustainable penetration of firm and variable/intermittent RES-Electricity generation that the European electricity system can bear, towards more controllability/flexibility.
  • Highest improvement in social welfare from a perfect controllability of the European transmission networks.
  • Best method to present and disseminate the essential results, policy recommendations and actions plans across Europe.

CIRCE'S ROLE

CIRCE will participate in Grid-Tech as a third party, giving support to the European Renewable Energy Centres (EUREC) in the synthesis of the results obtained and the elaboration of policy recommendations, which aims to identify:

  • The cost/benefits of the implementation of new technologies into the European transmission system
  • And the actions needed to exploit the full potential of those benefits in order to foster the achievement of the EU2020 RES-Electricity targets and beyond

PARTNERS