L 117/46
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
19.4.2022
(c) flow-based: Elia’s modelling framework integrates all known and planned market design introductions into the flow-based capacity calculation method, such as the extension of the region to Core; ‘advanced hybrid coupling’; or the minRAM rules introduced by the Electricity Regulation.
(d) flexibility: the study includes both the calculation of the total system’s flexibility needs and means and an assessment of the dimensioning of Frequency Containment Reserves and Frequency Restoration Reserves for each target year to reflect reserve needs that will cover imbalances in line with legal requirements which are modelled in the adequacy simulations.
Furthermore, the flexibility characteristics of offshore wind power are refined, and power-to-x technologies are included as new technologies.
Finally, specific focus is placed on the impact of the integration of the second wave of offshore generation capacity and cross-border balancing platforms.
(e) sectorial integration: regarding sector coupling, the interfaces between the electricity system and different sectors such as the transport, heating and gas sectors are taken into account through the inclusion of assumptions about electric vehicles, heat pumps and thermal gas unit generation capacities respectively.
In order to grasp the implications of using electricity to generate hydrogen in the modelling used in the present study, electrolysers were added as a (flexible) consumption of electricity in Belgium and abroad.
Moreover, special attention was given to digitalization of additional electricity consumption from transport and heat.
(f) ten-year horizon: the study is based on the ten-year horizon (2022-2032).
In order to reduce the amount of simulations and computations, not all sensitivities and scenarios were simulated for all the years: some key years were analysed more in depth.
A large amount of sensitivities were performed on Belgium and abroad in order to grasp and understand the implications of varying certain assumptions.
For comparison, the ERAA 2021 is expected to only simulate the years 2025 and 2030.
(g) variants with and without capacity mechanisms: in line with the Electricity Regulation and the ERAA methodology, Elia included scenarios both with and without market-wide capacity mechanisms in Europe.
(43)
The Belgian authorities submitted that the main methodological requirements stipulated in the ERAA methodology have been implemented in this study.
(44)
Based on the Electricity Regulation, the NRAA must contain the reference central scenarios.
Those scenarios shall include, among other, an economic viability assessment of generation assets.
The ERAA methodology further specifies that two central reference scenarios are to be defined, one with capacity mechanisms across Europe and the other one without such capacity mechanisms.
(45)
Consequently, in the 2021 Adequacy and Flexibility study two central scenarios were explored: (a) ‘EU-BASE’: reflects a scenario which takes into account already approved market-wide capacity mechanisms in France, Great Britain, Poland, Italy and Ireland and assumes that these will be in place until the end of this study’s timeframe; (b) ‘EU-noCRM’: this reflects a scenario that excludes market-wide capacity mechanism revenues, so assuming that no market-wide capacity mechanisms exist in Europe.
(46)
The 2021 Adequacy and Flexibility study takes account of the contribution of all resources including existing and future possibilities for generation, energy storage, sectoral integration, demand response, and import and export and their contribution to flexible system operation.
(47)
The Belgian authorities submitted that the modelling of the maximum clearing prices performed in the 2021 Adequacy and Flexibility study takes into account all the available legal provisions, such as the currently applicable maximum price limit, the 60 % rule (31) as set in Commission Regulation (EU) 2015/1222 of 24 July 2015 establishing a guideline on capacity allocation and congestion management (32), and Decision No 04/2017 of ACER of 14 November 2017.
(31) Decision No 04/2017 of ACER of 14 November 2017 states that in the event that the clearing price exceeds a value of 60 percent of the harmonised maximum clearing price for Single Day-ahead Coupling in at least one market time unit in a day in an individual bidding zone or in multiple bidding zones, the harmonised maximum clearing price shall be increased by 1 000 EUR/MWh.
(32) OJ L 197, 25.7.2015, p. 24.