Profitability of power-to-heat-to-power storages in scenarios with high shares of renewable energy

Abstract

Intermittent electricity generation from variable renewable energies will lead to an increased demand for flexibility options in the future. Power-to-heat-to-power storage technologies present high potentials for large-scale application. However, investments in such technologies are still hampered by technical and economic challenges. To address the latter the possible revenues in electricity markets need to be analyzed. For this, we simulate the German electricity market in ambitious defossilization scenarios. We use different operational strategies for the storage (minimizing system costs versus maximizing storage profits) that show a wide range of storage profitability. The operator benefits from its attributed market power (i.e. assuming perfect foresight in a rolling horizon window) to generate positive net profits. Further research may focus on market situations with increased market competition.