LEVELIZED COST OF RETURNED ENERGY(LCORE)ANALYSIS FOR COMPARING HYDROGEN END-USES BATTERY STORAGE ECONOMICS

摘要

As Renewable Portfolio Standards across the United States and around the world require increased amounts of retail electricity sales to be supplied from renewable generating technologies,the installed capacity of renewable generation must increase.Since this new renewable generation capacity comes predominantly from wind and solar,the amount of renewable generation at any given moment is controlled by time of day and weather conditions,including seasonal variations in energy availability.The intermittency of wind and solar generation can require increased quantities of flexible generation to provide high-speed ramping to keep the electric grid in balance.Given that this flexible generation is typically fueled with natural gas,the air emissions avoided by wind and solar generation can largely be offset by the increased emissions associated with the increased ramping requirements of natural gas-fired generation.Beyond simple variability,the amount of renewable generation can at times substantially exceed the capacity of the electric grid to accommodate it.This results in curtailment of renewable generation or,in deregulated wholesale energy markets,negative wholesale electricity prices.Otherwise-curtailed renewable generation can be put to beneficial use through the development of flexible,nonemitting alternative technologies that can replace emitting natural gas-fired generation to a greater or lesser extent.Such alternive technologies not only reduce the need for curtailment of renewable generation,but become increasingly important to maintain overall emissions reductions as renewable penetration increases.