Energy balancing and storage in climate-neutral smart energy systems

This paper takes a smart energy system's approach to the analysis of the need for energy storage and balancing in a future climate-neutral society and thus supports and advances the United Nations' sustainable development goals, in particular SDG 7 (Affordable and clean energy). The study qualifies and quantifies that the best solutions to the transition can only be found by taking a cross-sectoral holistic approach – also known as a smart energy system's approach. Optimal investments in storage and resulting levels of curtailment are identified based on five smart energy system integration levels (SESIL), progressing from a sole electricity sector focus to a fully integrated system of electricity, heating, cooling, industry, transport, and materials. The study finds and quantifies that the overall least-cost solution is only identified in a fully integrated smart energy system, with affordable types of energy storage and little curtailment which cannot be found in a sole electricity sector approach. Furthermore, the study shows and quantifies that with the aim of a climate-neutral society, it becomes essential to take a holistic smart energy system's approach to identify least-cost storage and energy balancing solutions, and suggests a tool and a method to identify such solutions.