Analysing the interaction of expansion decisions by end customers and grid development in the context of a municipal energy system

TL;DR

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of how building-level energy retrofit and renewable generation expansion influence grid infrastructure and costs, considering decentralized energy systems and user behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a holistic approach combining multi-criteria optimization and grid expansion analysis to evaluate interactions in future decentralized energy supply systems.

Findings

Expansion of hosting capacity affects grid charges and user decisions.

Interactions between building-level measures and grid infrastructure are significant.

The approach enables better planning of grid and generation expansion.

Abstract

In order to achieve greenhouse gas neutrality by 2045, the Climate Protection Act sets emission reduction targets for the years 2030 and 2040, as well as decreasing annual emission volumes for some sectors, including the building sector. Measures to decarbonize the building sector include energy retrofits and the expansion of renewable, decentralized power generators and low-CO2 heat generators. These measures thus change both the load and the generation of the future energy supply concept. Considering the interactions of the changed installed technologies on the building level and their influence on the electrical grid infrastructure is necessary. The grid operator will remedy the future congested grid states by grid expansion measures and pass on the costs to the connected grid users, which in turn could influence their behaviour and decisions. The aim of this work is a holistic analysis of the staggered interactions of generation expansion and grid expansion for a future decentralized energy supply concept conditioned by the expansion in the field of self-generation. To enable the analysis of the interactions, a multi-criteria optimization procedure for expansion and operation decisions at the building level is combined with an approach to determine grid expansion. As part of this work, the effect of an expansion of hosting capacity on the grid charges and thus the decision-making behaviour was investigated.