Title: On the economics of electrical storage for variable renewable energy sources,
Abstract: The use of renewable energy sources is a major strategy to mitigate climate
change. Yet Sinn (2017) argues that excessive electrical storage requirements
limit the further expansion of variable wind and solar energy. We question, and
alter, strong implicit assumptions of Sinn's approach and find that storage
needs are considerably lower, up to two orders of magnitude. First, we move
away from corner solutions by allowing for combinations of storage and
renewable curtailment. Second, we specify a parsimonious optimization model
that explicitly considers an economic efficiency perspective. We conclude that
electrical storage is unlikely to limit the transition to renewable energy.