The report analyzes the characteristics of wind power, and the technical capacity of coal, nuclear power and natural gas, to cope with the upsurge of wind power in the market, and finds that, as the market share of wind increases, the role of natural gas as a flexible fuel supporting wind output increases.
January 2012: The International Energy Agency (IEA) has released a working paper titled “The Impact of Wind Power on European Natural Gas Markets,” examining the suitability of natural gas to support an increasing wind market share, and analyzing the concurrent impact of the increased market share of wind power on natural gas demand in the electricity sector in Europe.
The report analyzes the characteristics of wind power and the technical capacity of coal, nuclear power and natural gas to cope with the upsurge of wind power in the market. The paper’s chapters investigate the rise of wind power in Europe, the management of variability in the energy sector, specifically supply-side responses, the effect of wind output on the general demand for electricity, and the effect of wind power on gas markets. The report finds that, as the market share of wind increases, the role of natural gas as a flexible fuel supporting wind output increases. As a result, wind will also have a growing impact on natural gas demand in the power sector, particularly leading to increased flexibility in gas supplies. [Publication: The Impact of Wind Power on European Natural Gas Markets]