Abstract
Achieving the EU RES penetration 2030 targets requires an increase in flexible resources. In this work we propose two readily deployable flexibility solutions to balance demand/supply as an alternative to building additional thermoelectric reserves. We show how the TSO can use the ancillary services provided by a flexible PV fleet (solar regulation) or PV/wind fleet (VRE regulation) together with a suitable under-forecast and pro-active curtailment of variable renewable generation (aka, implicit storage) to reduce current and future Italian imbalances. We also show how these flexibility solutions can become even more effective when combined with a strengthening of the transmission grid. We found that the imbalance reduction achievable by 2030 through solar/VRE regulation strategies would be of the order of 20%-50% with zonal balancing and 27%-80% with nationwide balancing. Imbalance costs would remain comparable with the business-as-usual (thermal generation) costs.