The role of photovoltaics in a sustainable European energy system under variable CO2 emissions targets, transmission capacities, and costs assumptions

TL;DR

This study uses a detailed European energy system model to analyze how photovoltaics and other renewable sources contribute to decarbonization goals, considering various constraints and costs.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of PV's role in a sustainable European energy system under different emission and cost scenarios using an open-source model.

Findings

PV supplies 33% of electricity demand at 95% CO2 reduction

Southern Europe favors PV and batteries, northern Europe favors wind and hydrogen

Daily PV generation impacts backup and storage dispatch

Abstract

PyPSA-Eur-Sec-30 is an open-source, hourly-resolved, networked model of the European energy system which includes one node per country as well as electricity, heating, and transport sectors. The capacity and dispatch of generation and storage technologies in every country can be cost-optimised under different CO2 emissions constraints. This paper presents an overview of the most relevant results previously obtained with the model, highlighting the influence of solar photovoltaic (PV) generation on them. For 95% CO2 emissions reduction, relative to 1990 level, PV generation supplies in average 33% of the electricity demand. Southern European countries install large PV capacities together with electric batteries, while northern countries install onshore and offshore wind capacities and use hydrogen storage and reinforced interconnections to deal with wind fluctuations. The strong daily generation profile of solar PV heavily impacts the dispatch time series of backup generation and storage technologies. The optimal PV and wind capacities are investigated for variable CO2 emissions, transmission interconnection among neighbouring countries, and cost assumptions.