Which wind turbine types are needed in a cost-optimal renewable energy system?

Previous research has indicated that wind power plants can be designed to have less-variable power generation, thereby mitigating the drop in economic value that typically occurs at high wind power penetration rates. This study investigates the competitiveness of adapted turbine design and the interplay with other flexibility measures, such as batteries and hydrogen storage, for managing variations. The analysis covers seven turbine designs for onshore and offshore wind generation, with different specific power ratings and hub heights. Various flexibility measures (batteries, hydrogen storage and transmission expansion) are included in the optimization of investment and dispatch of the electricity system of northern Europe. Three driving forces for turbine design selection are identified: (1) lowest cost of electricity generation; (2) annual wind production per land area and (3) improved generation profile of wind power. The results show that in regions with good wind resources and limited availability of variation management, it is cost-efficient to reduce the variability of wind power production by adapting the turbine design. This remains the case when variation management is available in the form of batteries, hydrogen storage and transmission system expansion. Moreover, it is more cost-effective to improve variability by changing the specific power rating rather than the turbine hub height.