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RETRACTED ARTICLE: Perspectives for the long-term penetration of new renewables in complex energy systems: the Italian scenario

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This article was retracted on 14 January 2016

Abstract

Renewable energy sources are mainly used in the electrical sector. Electricity is not a storable commodity. Hence, it is necessary to produce the requested quantity and distribute it through the system in such a way as to ensure that electricity supply and demand are always evenly balanced. This constraint is actually the main problem related to the penetration of new renewables (wind and photovoltaic power) in the context of complex energy systems. The paper analyzes some aspects in connection with the problem of new renewable energy penetration. The case of Italian scenario is considered as a meaningful reference due to the characteristic size and the complexity of the same. The various energy scenarios are evaluated with the aid of a multipurpose software taking into account the interconnections between the different energetic uses. In particular, it is shown how the penetration of new renewable energies is limited at an upper level by technological considerations and it will be more sustainable if an integration of the various energy use (thermal, mobility and electrical) field will be considered.

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Abbreviations

C ICE :

Internal combustion engine vehicles consumption as km/kWh

C elv :

Electric vehicles consumption as km/kWh

E ind :

Primary energy consumption in industrial sector

E t :

Industrial thermal energy demand

E tr :

Primary energy consumption for internal combustion engines vehicles

E TP :

Primary energy consumption in conventional thermal plants

ElecCHP :

Electricity from CHP plants

ElecRH :

Electric energy produced by river hydropower plants

ElecIR :

Electric energy produced by intermittent renewable

ElecPV :

Electric energy produced by photovoltaic plants

ElecWIND :

Electric energy produced by wind power plants

f :

Objective function

g :

Inequality constraints

h :

Equality constraints

p :

Parameters

P grid :

Power required on the grid

s :

Kilometers of traffic by internal combustion engine vehicles substituted by electric vehicles

x, y, w:

Variables

X, Y, W:

Vector of variables

Δelv :

Additional energy saving due to the introduction of electric vehicles

ΔE elv,tot :

Overall energy saving due to the introduction of electric vehicles

ΔCHP :

Loss of energy saving in cogeneration scenario

ΔE elv :

Energy saving due to greater efficiency of electric vehicles compared to internal combustion engines

η E :

Mean efficiency of the plants connected to the electric grid

η t :

Conventional thermal energy production efficiency

η E,CHP :

CHP electrical efficiency

η t,CHP :

CHP thermal efficiency

AEEG:

(Italian)authority for electric energy and gas

CAES:

Compressed air energy storage

CEEP:

Critical excess energy production

CHP:

Combined heat and power (industrial cogeneration)

DH:

District heating

EEEP:

Exportable excess electricity production

EU:

European union

IR:

Intermittent renewables

PES:

Primary energy saving

PV:

Photovoltaic

RES:

Renewable energy sources

RH:

River hydropower plants

T.E.:

Thermoelectric (power plants)

GW:

=109 W

MW:

=106 W

KWh:

=3.6 MJ

Tpe:

Tonns of oil equivalent primary energy (1 Tpe = 41.86 GJoules)

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Energetica “L. Poggi”, Università di Pisa, Largo Lucio Lazzarino, 2, 56126, Pisa, Italy

    Alessandro Franco & Pasquale Salza

Authors
  1. Alessandro Franco
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  2. Pasquale Salza
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Correspondence to Alessandro Franco.

Additional information

Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.

This article has been retracted by the Editor-in-Chief due to severe and unexplained overlap in text and figures with “Strategies for optimal penetration of intermittent renewables in complex energy systems based on techno-operational objectives,” (Received 29 April 2010, Accepted 28 July 2010, Available online 21 August 2010), an article authored by Franco and Salza in Elsevier’s journal Renewable Energy. The articles were submitted to and under review by both Environment, Development, and Sustainability and Renewable Energy during overlapping periods, which violates the ethics policies of both journals. The article in Renewable Energy will remain in publication as the version of record.

An erratum to this article can be found online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10668-015-9726-y.

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Franco, A., Salza, P. RETRACTED ARTICLE: Perspectives for the long-term penetration of new renewables in complex energy systems: the Italian scenario. Environ Dev Sustain 13, 309–330 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-010-9263-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-010-9263-7

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