Do we need gas as a bridging fuel? A case study of the electricity system of Switzerland

Paula Díaz, Oscar Van Vliet, Anthony Patt

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Many future electricity scenarios, including those from the International Energy Agency, use natural gas to bridge the transition to renewables, in particular as a means of balancing intermittent generation from new renewables. Given that such strategies may be inconsistent with strategies to limit climate change to below 2 °C, we address the question of whether such use of gas is necessary or cost effective. We conduct a techno-economic case study of Switzerland, using a cost optimization model. We explore a range of electricity costs, comparing scenarios in which gas is used as a source of base-load power, a source of balancing capacity, and not used at all. Costs at the high end of the range show that a complete decarbonization increases system-wide costs by 3% compared to a gas bridging scenario, and 13-46% compared to a carbon-intensive scenario, depending on the relative shares of solar and wind. Costs at the low end of the range show that system-wide costs are equal or lower for both completely decarbonized and gas bridging scenarios. In conclusion, gas delivers little to no cost savings as a bridging fuel in a system that switches to wind and solar.

Original languageEnglish
Article number861
JournalEnergies
Volume10
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2017

Keywords

  • Concentrating solar power
  • Cost projections
  • Decarbonization
  • Switzerland
  • Wind offshore

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Do we need gas as a bridging fuel? A case study of the electricity system of Switzerland'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this