Meteorological conditions during Dunkelflauten in Germany: Characteristics, the role of weather regimes and impacts on demand

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Main Authors: Mockert, Fabian, Grams, Christian M., Brown, Tom, Neumann, Fabian
Format: Preprint
Published: 2022
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author Mockert, Fabian
Grams, Christian M.
Brown, Tom
Neumann, Fabian
author_facet Mockert, Fabian
Grams, Christian M.
Brown, Tom
Neumann, Fabian
contents Renewable generation from wind and solar power is strongly weather-dependent. To plan future sustainable energy systems that are robust to this variability, a better understanding of why and when periods of low wind and solar power output occur is valuable. We call such periods of low wind and solar power output `Dunkelflauten', the German word for dark wind lulls. In this article, we analyse the meteorological conditions during Dunkelflauten in Germany by applying the concept of weather regimes. Weather regimes are quasi-stationary, recurrent, and persistent large-scale circulation patterns which explain multi-day atmospheric variability (5-15 days). We use a regime definition that allows us to distinguish four different types of blocked regimes, characterised by high pressure situations in the North Atlantic-European region. We find that in Germany, Dunkelflauten mainly occur in winter when the solar power output is anyway low and when the wind power output drops for several consecutive days. A high-pressure system over Germany, associated with the European Blocking regime, is responsible for most of the Dunkelflauten. Dunkelflauten during the Greenland Blocking regime are associated with colder temperatures than usual, causing higher electricity demand and presenting a particular challenge as space heating demand electrifies in future. Furthermore, we show that Dunkelflauten occur predominantly when a weather regime is well-established and persists longer than usual. Our study provides novel insight on the occurrence and meteorological characteristics of Dunkelflauten, which is essential for planning resilient energy systems and supporting grid operators to prepare for potential shortages in supply.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2212_04870
institution arXiv
publishDate 2022
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Meteorological conditions during Dunkelflauten in Germany: Characteristics, the role of weather regimes and impacts on demand
Mockert, Fabian
Grams, Christian M.
Brown, Tom
Neumann, Fabian
Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
Renewable generation from wind and solar power is strongly weather-dependent. To plan future sustainable energy systems that are robust to this variability, a better understanding of why and when periods of low wind and solar power output occur is valuable. We call such periods of low wind and solar power output `Dunkelflauten', the German word for dark wind lulls. In this article, we analyse the meteorological conditions during Dunkelflauten in Germany by applying the concept of weather regimes. Weather regimes are quasi-stationary, recurrent, and persistent large-scale circulation patterns which explain multi-day atmospheric variability (5-15 days). We use a regime definition that allows us to distinguish four different types of blocked regimes, characterised by high pressure situations in the North Atlantic-European region. We find that in Germany, Dunkelflauten mainly occur in winter when the solar power output is anyway low and when the wind power output drops for several consecutive days. A high-pressure system over Germany, associated with the European Blocking regime, is responsible for most of the Dunkelflauten. Dunkelflauten during the Greenland Blocking regime are associated with colder temperatures than usual, causing higher electricity demand and presenting a particular challenge as space heating demand electrifies in future. Furthermore, we show that Dunkelflauten occur predominantly when a weather regime is well-established and persists longer than usual. Our study provides novel insight on the occurrence and meteorological characteristics of Dunkelflauten, which is essential for planning resilient energy systems and supporting grid operators to prepare for potential shortages in supply.
title Meteorological conditions during Dunkelflauten in Germany: Characteristics, the role of weather regimes and impacts on demand
topic Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2212.04870