The potential of flexible power generation from biomass: A case study for a German region

Abstract

Energy scenarios and roadmaps indicate that intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind power and solar photovoltaic (PV) will be crucial to the power supply in the future. However, this increases the demand for flexible power generation, particularly under conditions of insufficient wind and/or solar irradiation. Among the renewable energy sources, bioenergy offers multiple end-use in the form of power, fuel or heat. Biomass-based power combines the advantages of being renewable, exceptionally CO2 neutral and supporting demand-oriented production.This chapter analyses four energy scenarios for Germany, focusing on the relevance of flexible bioenergy therein. Depending on how the scenarios are constructed, the range of biomass potential in the energy system is 1,180’ 1,700 PJ/a. The following sections of the chapter investigate the potential of flexible power generation from biomass on a regional scale (50 Hertz grid) starting with a description of the current state of bioenergy generation in the region and its potential for supplementary heat provision. We model the contribution of flexible biogas and solid biomass power using a minimization of daily residual load variance as a goal function. Two points in time are modeled ’ 2011 and 2030 to include the current and projected installed capacity from wind and solar PV. The results indicate that depending on the framework conditions, flexible bioenergy inclusion can reduce the daily variance in the residual load by >50 % compared to a non-flexible system. We conclude that flexible bioenergy has significant potential to contribute to balancing the power system with increasing shares of intermittent sources such as wind and solar PV.