Reduced storage and balancing needs in a fully renewable European power system with excess wind and solar power generation

The storage and balancing needs of a simplified European power system, which is based on wind and solar power generation only, are derived from an extensive weather-driven modeling of hourly power mismatches between generation and load. The storage energy capacity, the annual balancing energy and the balancing power are found to depend significantly on the mixing ratio between wind and solar power generation. They decrease strongly with the overall excess generation. At 50% excess generation the required long-term storage energy capacity and annual balancing energy amount to 1% of the annual consumption. The required balancing power turns out to be 25% of the average hourly load. These numbers are in agreement with current hydro storage lakes in Scandinavia and the Alps, as well as with potential hydrogen storage in mostly North-German salt caverns.

► A fully renewable European power system with power generation only from wind and solar sources is modeled based on spatio-temporal weather data.
► The storage and balancing needs are derived and found to depend significantly on the mixing ratio between wind and solar power generation.
► The storage and balancing needs decrease strongly with the overall excess generation.
► At 50% excess generation the required long-term storage and balancing needs are in agreement with current European hydro storage lakes and potential hydrogen storage in salt caverns.