Transformation of the electricity sector with thermal storage power plants and PV – A first conceptual approach

•Storage plants are an approach to cover residual load with 100% renewable energy.•Ranking thermal plants about transforming to storage plants is made for Germany.•An algorithm that relates potential PV area for transformed storage plants is created.•Agro-PV on agricultural land along roads have favorable impact on transformation•Excluding agricultural areas leads to longer distances between PV and storage plants. The paper presents a model algorithm for a global transformation of conventional thermal power plants to thermal storage power plants (TSPP). TSPP are thermal power stations that provide highly flexible and at the same time renewable power. The idea behind such transformation is to conserve the firm capacity of the existing thermal power plant fleet and at the same time substitute the related fuel demand by solar energy. Taking Germany as a reference case, several ranking criteria were applied to existing power stations in order to identify a priority list for such transformation. In order to relate the available solar energy potential to each power plant of this list, a geographic information system was set up in order to quantify and identify suitable land area for potential PV installations nearby the plants. After briefly recapitulating the potential function and impact of TSPP in the German national power supply system, the paper proposes a method of ranking existing thermal power plants and of identifying the required PV potential for their transformation. The preliminary results show the feasibility of such approach, identify several limitations and provide first ideas for further development.