{"id":62457,"date":"2020-09-10T02:22:00","date_gmt":"2020-09-10T00:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sonnenseite.com\/?p=62457"},"modified":"2020-09-08T17:25:41","modified_gmt":"2020-09-08T15:25:41","slug":"study-security-of-supply-in-cold-winters-declines-by-2030","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sonnenseite.com\/en\/science\/study-security-of-supply-in-cold-winters-declines-by-2030\/","title":{"rendered":"Study: Security of supply in cold winters declines by 2030"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Heat pumps operated with green electricity are key to the energy transition in the building sector. However, to avoid electricity supply-demand gaps in north-western Europe, robust and well-coordinated expansion plans are needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During cold spells, as last seen in 2012, there could be a future gap of up to 3.2 TWh of electricity. This is shown by the study \u201c2030 Peak Power Demand in North-West Europe\u201d conducted by the Institute of Energy Economics (EWI) at the University of Cologne and the French consulting firm E-CUBE Strategy Consultants<\/a> on behalf of the French utility ENGIE.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EWI and E-CUBE have investigated how the electricity system in Germany, France, Denmark and the Benelux countries could react to cold spells in 2030. The authors defined three scenarios for the demand for electricity based on different degrees of electrification in the building and transport sectors. The result: The risk of gaps in electricity supply at very low temperatures increases until 2030, and it is mainly driven by heat pumps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heat pumps become more inefficient the colder it gets<\/h5>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHeat pumps are a key technology for the energy transition,\u201d says Dr. Eglantine K\u00fcnle, Manager and Chief Modeller at EWI. \u201cIn the study, we examined how they can be best integrated into the energy system during cold winters.\u201c Heat pumps play a special role in very cold winters. \u201cOn the one hand, they have to provide even more space heat. On the other hand, the efficiency of heat pumps decreases the colder it gets,\u201d says Dr. Eglantine K\u00fcnle, Manager and Chief Modeller at the EWI. \u201cA disproportionately high amount of electricity must therefore be used for heating.\u201d For the security of supply, it is central how large this effect is exactly. Nevertheless, the estimation is subject to uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n