Balancing Europe: Can district heating affect the flexibility potential of Norwegian hydropower resources?

As Europe moves towards renewable energy, hydropower stands out as a renewable technology that can provide supply side flexibility through dispatchable electricity production. Several studies have investigated the flexibility hydropower can provide with a particular focus on the Nordic hydropower resources. Of all European countries, Norway has the largest hydropower resources and storage capacity. However, Norway also has a highly electrified heating sector, which means high electricity demand during winter when reservoirs are low. This paper uses EnergyPLAN to analyse how a shift from individual electric heating to district heating affects the flexibility the Norwegian energy system can provide to Europe. The analysis develops a 2015 reference scenario and two scenarios that introduce district heating based on biomass and heat pumps, respectively. Results show that district heating can decrease the maximum load on dammed hydropower facilities, thus freeing up capacity for potential export. Furthermore, the dammed hydropower facilities are able to balance the electricity demands in all hours of the year. However, the shift to district heating also increases forced export to drain reservoirs as domestic electricity demand is reduced. Also, the amount of import the system is able to handle is decreased under the modelled conditions.