Designing Efficient Renewable Energy Portfolios for Optimal Coverage of European Power Demand Under Transmission Constraints

In this paper, we consider spatially and technologically diversified portfolios of renewable energy resources (RES) on a European scale. These portfolios efficiently allocate wind and solar production capacity with a view on matching load and restricting conventional generation capacity in each country. We investigate the composition of optimal portfolios taking into account the existing cross-border transmission capacity as well as future expansion scenarios. For the purposes of our analysis, we develop several multi-criteria optimization models and apply them to a rich dataset of daily electricity load, RES capacity factors, and transmission capacity constraints for 32 European countries during the period 2010–2015. By exploring different scenarios for the composition of efficient portfolios and cross-border network connectivity, we quantify the effectiveness of the resource aggregation strategy in terms of reducing the energy production deficit or surplus in each country. Empirical evidence shows that the portfolio perspective provides a solid basis for strategic planning on the future expansion of the European grid.