Impact assessment of large scale RES penetration for the Hellenic power system; A market simulation model analysis

This paper presents an hourly simulation model for the analysis in an annual context of the impact of large scale RES penetration on the Hellenic Power System. The impact is assessed in terms of the System Marginal Price of the Day Ahead Market (DAM), taking into account the intermittency of the Renewable Energy Sources (RES) production and its optimal integration into the power system along with operational technical and economic considerations. The model is based on a slightly simplified version of the DAM clearing algorithm of the Hellenic wholesale electricity market [1]. Its purpose is to examine how the system behaves under large scale RES penetration and different configurations of the thermal capacity. It runs for milestone years such as 2020 or 2030, and it helps in evaluating, from an operational perspective, configurations stemming from optimal capacity expansion models that do not fully cover operational issues. Results provide an assessment of the potential cooperation between thermal, hydro and RES plants, highlighting that none of the above should be treated independently.