EASE

Title: Evaluation and Applicability of the spatio-temporal complementarity of the Solar and Eolic resource for the optimized design of renewable energy scenarios (EASE).

Execution time: from 01/01/2019 to 31/12/2021.

Funding entity: Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades - Convocatoria Proyectos I+D+i «Retos Investigación» 2018

Project code: RTI2018-100870-A-I00

Financing granted: €24200

Team: Sonia Jerez Rodríguez (IP)

Abstract: Europe faces the challenge of an energy transition towards a decarbonised system. A massive deployment of new photovoltaic and wind power facilities will occur, with the aim of supplying as much of the electricity demand as possible. The commitment is to multiply by ten the total installed capacity of photovoltaic power, by four in the case of the wind power, in the coming years. This transition presents not only environmental advantages, by reducing the use of polluting fossil fuels (harmful to public health and to the planet) and in depletion phase, thus fulfilling the sustainability objectives promoted by the European Union, but also social and economic pros: it contributes to the energy independence of the countries, promotes local employment and, in the particular case of Spain, favors (and takes advantage of) the technological development carried out within our national borders. It would also raise up Spain to the head of Europe in generating clean energy, given the high wind and solar potential of our region. For this transition to be effective, a smart design of decarbonised energy scenarios that guarantee the stability and security of the energy system is necessary, and this requires, first of all, an exhaustive evaluation and planning of the resources that takes into account their variability and complementarity, in the space-time, as well as their vulnerability to climate change. Likewise, the progress in this exercise of a scientific nature must be reflected in practicable and useful information to ease a correct decision-making by the competent bodies. Therefore, the objectives of this proposal are: (1) to improve the generation of climate information for the correct evaluation of the solar and wind resources through the study and implementation of the aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions in regional climate models runs, (2) to advance in the understanding and characterization of the spatio-temporal complementarity of these resources, and their evolution under changed climate conditions, taking into account their local response to recurrent synoptic configurations with an oscillatory frequency, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation and the portfolio of weather regimes with a faster transitioning over the European region, and (3) to transfer these cutting-edge scientific advances into the technical and applicable terrain, developing an exportable and versatile tool for designing optimized renewable energy scenarios, in terms of maximum supply and stability around the demand curve, and resilient to the changes in climate that are projected in the medium-to-long horizon.