Synergies Between Wind and Solar Generation and Demand Response

Date Published: August 2017

Authors: Niels Berghout, Machteld van den Broek, Ernst Worrell, Dolf Gielen, Deger Saygin, Nicholas Wagner

When renewable energy and energy efficiency are pursued together, they result in higher shares of renewable energy, a faster reduction in energy intensity, and a lower cost for the energy system. The International Renewable Energy Agency has explored this synergy under its REmap program, a global roadmap to significantly increase the share of renewable energy by 2030 compared to today’s level (19% of global generation), and to explore what this would mean for decarbonization of the energy system in the longer term, to 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement. Three primary cases are examined from 2010 to 2030: a business-as-usual case (the Reference Case, which examines change predicted under current national plans), an accelerated renewable uptake case (REmap), and a case that combines accelerated renewables with enhanced efficiency (REmap + EE). The study concludes that renewable energy and energy efficiency measures can potentially achieve 90% of the carbon reductions required to limit global temperature rise to a maximum of 2°C above pre-industrial levels with a 66% probability. The cost-competitiveness of technologies varies by country, but deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies together results in overall savings to the energy system across all countries.

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