Impact assessment of new technologies to foster RES-electricity integration into the European transmission system (GridTECH)

Description

The major objective of GridTech was to conduct a fully integrated impact assessment of the implementation of new technologies (RES-E generation, bulk storage, transmission network technologies) into the European electricity system necessary to exploit the full potential of future RES-E generation across Europe with lowest possible total electricity system cost. The timeframe of GridTech analyses was up to the year 2050, with special consideration of the target years 2020, 2030 and 2050.

The main project activities included:

• assessment of non-technical barriers for transmission expansion and distortions for market-compatible RES-E grid and market integration in Europe with reference to the challenges addressed in the relevant European policy documents;
• development of cost-/benefit analysis methodology on investments into the European transmission grid towards more controllability/flexibility and thus fostering large-scale RES-E and storage integration;
• application/verification of the cost-benefit methodology for transmission grid investments on bottom-up level (bottom-up case study analyses in 7 countries: Germany, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Ireland, Bulgaria, Austria) and top-down level (covering the entire EU30+ region);
• achievement of common understanding among key target groups on best-practice criteria for the implementation of new technologies fostering RES-E storage integration into the European transmission system on several scales in time in the future (p to 2020, 2030, 2050);
• clear guidelines on successful implementation of the case study results in the target countries, addressing the necessary changes of the legal, regulatory and market framework. Comprehensive consultation processes, communication, dissemination, policy debates and co-operation with ENTSO-E.