Integrated Electricity and Gas Systems Planning: New Opportunities, and a Detailed Assessment of Relevant Issues

Abstract

Integrated electricity and gas systems (IEGS) with power-to-gas (PtG) units, as novel sector coupling components between electricity and gas systems, have been considered a promising solution for the reliable and economic operation of the integrated energy systems which can effectively reduce the challenges associated with the high penetration of renewable energy sources (RES). To confirm the economic viability and technical feasibility of the IEGS, its coordinated planning will play a crucial role. The more comprehensive the modeling and evaluation of IEGS planning studies are, the more precise and practical the results obtained will be. In this paper, an in-depth and up-to-date assessment of the available literature on the IEGS planning is presented by addressing critical concerns and challenges, which need further studies. A vast variety of related topics in the IEGS planning, including the impact of costs, constraints, uncertainties, contingencies, reliability, sector coupling components, etc., are also reviewed and discussed. In addition, the role of PtGs and their impacts on the coordinated IEGS planning are reviewed in detail due to their crucial role in increasing the penetration of RES in future energy systems as well as limiting greenhouse gas emissions. The literature review completed by this paper can support planners and policymakers to better realize the bottlenecks in the IEGS development, so that they can concentrate on the remaining unsolved topics as well as the improvement of existing designs and procedures.