How to design a cost-effective 100% renewable power system?

Research Project, 2019 –

This postdoc project aims for deepening the knowledge around how to design a cost-effective 100% renewable power system. The overarching research question is what the design of a cost-efficient, 100% renewable electricity system, consisting mainly of wind- and
solar power, may look like. Specifically: (1) to what extent may radically different designs (e.g. capacity mixes) serve the purpose of a cost-effective Variable Renewable Energy (VR) system? In other words, what is the versatility and possible invariants of such systems?, (2) Under what cost assumptions do the paradigm with the predominance of wind as generation (ass. 1) and trade as variation management (ass 2.) hold?, and (3) To what extent
does the optimal design depend on geographic features (wind-, solar resources, distance between resources and load centers)? In other words, are cost efficient solutions very different depending on region (e.g. China, the Middle East)?