The impact of different flexibility options on future electricity spot prices in Germany

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the discussion of how spot price formation can take place outside the typical thermal merit-order. To predict the alteration of spot prices in situations with high supply of renewable energies, it is essential to understand the interaction of intermittent renewables and thermal generation in combination with additional storage technologies and flexible demand. Therefore, the impact of the latter mentioned flexibility measures is analysed by adding them exogenously to a fundamental price model based on perfect competition. By demonstrating the general feasibility to model price-setting by flexible demand, it can be supposed that spot markets are likely to maintain their synchronisation function in the future. Nevertheless, the results from different sensitivities also reveal further challenges in assessing future electricity spot prices.