Identification of Beneficial Expansion Measures

The energy system is faced with the necessity for increased energy transport and storage capacities resulting from the integration of intermittent renewable energy sources. An expedient interconnection and customized expansion of the existing power and gas systems presents an economically and environmentally favorable approach to meet these requirements. This publication presents procedures based on optimization and sensitivity analysis to determine beneficial expansion measures in a coupled power and gas energy system. The expansion of AC lines, DC lines or transformers and the installation of new or the conversion of existing gas pipelines are degrees of freedom either in the power or in the gas system. Interconnecting elements in the form of gas-to-power - or power-to-gas plants can be added to the coupled system. The publication concludes with a benchmark of the presented approach to an integer optimization showing that the procedure allows to identify appropriate expansion measures.