Energy collection, conversion and storage, renewable energy
Sustainable energy policy
Policy making on renewable energies
The management and integration of intermittent renewable energy sources, such as wind
and solar power, require precise capacity planning due to their variable nature. This
study investigated the efficacy of using hourly time resolution in energy system models,
a common practice in capacity planning. Concerns have been raised about the ability
of hourly data to accurately represent rapid fluctuations in energy production and
demand since it inherently constantly under- or overestimates actual real-time conditions.
This research compared the outputs of energy models using 60-min resolution data with
those utilizing a 1-min resolution benchmark across various dimensions: stability
of outputs, temporal performance, geographical performance, impact of starting time
shifts in data sampling, and trend effects. Results indicate that models using 60-min
resolution data maintain a high level of accuracy, with output deviations of less
than 2 % from the benchmark. This finding provides strong support that the current
significant number of research studies, based on 60-min resolution data, do not carry
potentially biased results due to their time resolution and are suitable for capacity
planning decisions, thereby aiding in policy formulation.