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With the dynamic growth in both the global hunger for electrical energy and the share of variable renewable energy sources in the energy mix, distribution networks are facing new challenges where conventional solutions may not be the best ones. The increase in load in distribution grids is routinely countered by network development and expansion, in a great part to supply for on-peak load demand, which could also be done by utilizing supplementary technologies to lessen the need for or defer such expansion. Vehicle-to-grid technology could efficiently contribute to handling this issue, as electric vehicles can potentially function as storage capacities to mitigate the fluctuations of power generation. The battery energy storage systems of hybrid or completely electric watercraft, which are becoming increasingly popular, are no exception, either. These vehicles represent a considerable potential to create more complex vehicle-to-grid solutions for countries with significant inland or seaport networks, for example, Hungary, with the largest lake of Central Europe. Since there is only deficient information on the topic, the main goal of this study was to explore the energy storage capacities of small electric boats in the context of Lake Balaton, Hungary. By this example, the paper presents the potential utilization of Europe's significant network of sea and inland recreational ports for the purpose of energy storage. Similarly to other European countries, Hungary's energy strategy for 2030 also includes the promotion of virtual production integration, local energy communities and micro-grid solutions. At the beginning of 2021, the small electric boats in the sailing marinas of Lake Balaton represented a cumulative energy storage capacity of 4.8 MWh, which may reach even 15.6 MWh by 2030, by the promotion of micro-grid solutions. The innovative novelty of this study is that it regards small fully electric boats not just as vehicles, but also explores their energy storage potentials. The novel goal of these examinations is to explore the volume of the energy storage potentials of the small fully electric boats around Lake Balaton, the knowledge of which may facilitate the creation of new types of flexibility services related to energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global electricity demand is constantly growing, making the utilization of solar and wind energy sources, which also reduces negative environmental effects, more and more important. These variable energy sources have an increasing role in the global energy mix, including generating capacity. Therefore, the need for energy storage in electricity networks is becoming increasingly important. This paper presents the challenges of European variable renewable energy integration in terms of the power capacity and energy capacity of stationary storage technologies. In this research, the sustainable transition, distributed generation, and global climate action scenarios of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for 2040 were examined. The article introduces and explains the feasibility of the European variable renewable energy electricity generation targets and the theoretical maximum related to the 2040 scenarios. It also explains the determination of the storage fractions and power capacity in a new context. The aim is to clarify whether it is possible to achieve the European variable renewable energy integration targets considering the technology-specific storage aspects. According to the results, energy storage market developments and regulations which motivate the increased use of stationary energy storage systems are of great importance for a successful European solar and wind energy integration. The paper also proves that not only the energy capacity but also the power capacity of storage systems is a key factor for the effective integration of variable renewable energy sources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Day-ahead and intraday photovoltaic (PV) forecast accuracy is analyzed for 17 ENTSOE members. • Intraday forecasts are less skillful than day-ahead, signing a huge potential for improvement. • 4 TWh positive and 3 TWh negative annual regulatory needs from PV forecast errors for Europe. • Energy storage is required to ensure the carbon-free grid integration of PV power plants. As photovoltaic (PV) electricity generation is becoming ubiquitous, the ability to forecast solar power becomes crucial for such aspects as economical dispatch, optimal unit commitment and the stability of the grid. Our research investigated the discrepancies between day-ahead and intraday country-specific PV power generation forecasts and the real generation data in the member states of the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity for the year 2021. The goal of the research was, firstly, to offer an insight into the schedule accuracy achieved in the examined countries, secondly, to present the potentials for improvement in each of them (plausible even by the practical application of the methods available in 2021), and thirdly, to show the amount of regulation need resulting from PV electricity production forecasting error, the knowledge of which can help with the estimation of the size of the necessary storage capacities. This is the first work that analyzes the schedule accuracy from a practical perspective by examining the accuracy of the day-ahead and intraday PV forecasts of seventeen European countries, following the latest recommendations for verification. The results found significant differences between the forecast accuracy of different countries, which indicates a huge potential for imbalance reduction in most countries by improving their own algorithms or creating a uniform European PV power generation forecasting system. Overall, the intraday forecasts are less skillful than the day-ahead forecasts in all but one of the countries, which highlights the significance of further application-related studies in the intraday horizon. The aggregate regulatory need resulting from the discrepancies between the forecasted and actually produced amounts of energy of all studied countries is 4 TWh in the positive and 3 TWh in the negative direction, which calls for a large amount of energy storage capacity to provide carbon-free balancing power and reduce the regulation challenges of the increasing PV penetration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]