An Assessment of the CO$_2$ Emission Reduction Potential of Residential Load Management in Developing and Developed Countries

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Auteurs principaux: Zharova, Alona, Creutzig, Felix
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Zharova, Alona
Creutzig, Felix
author_facet Zharova, Alona
Creutzig, Felix
contents Intermittent renewable energies are increasingly dominating electricity grids and are forecasted to be the main force driving out fossil fuels from the grid in most major economies until 2040. However, grids based on intermittent renewables are challenged by diurnal and seasonal mismatch between supply of sun and wind and demand for electricity, including for heat pumps and electric two and four wheelers. Load management and demand response measures promise to adjust for this mismatch, utilizing information- and price-based approaches to steer demand towards times with high supply of intermittent renewables. Here, we systematically review the literature estimating CO$_2$ savings from residential load management in developing and developed nations. We find that load management holds high potential, locally differentiated with energy mix (including the respective share of renewables and fossils), climate zone, and the regulatory environment and price mechanism. Most identified studies suggest a mitigation potential between 1 and 20%. Load management becomes more relevant with higher shares of intermittent renewables, and when electricity prices are high. Importantly, load management aligns consumers' financial incentives with climate change mitigation, thus rendering accompanying strategies politically feasible. We summarize key regulatory steps to facilitate load management in economies and to realize relevant consumer surplus and mitigation potential.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_02811
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle An Assessment of the CO$_2$ Emission Reduction Potential of Residential Load Management in Developing and Developed Countries
Zharova, Alona
Creutzig, Felix
General Economics
Economics
Physics and Society
Intermittent renewable energies are increasingly dominating electricity grids and are forecasted to be the main force driving out fossil fuels from the grid in most major economies until 2040. However, grids based on intermittent renewables are challenged by diurnal and seasonal mismatch between supply of sun and wind and demand for electricity, including for heat pumps and electric two and four wheelers. Load management and demand response measures promise to adjust for this mismatch, utilizing information- and price-based approaches to steer demand towards times with high supply of intermittent renewables. Here, we systematically review the literature estimating CO$_2$ savings from residential load management in developing and developed nations. We find that load management holds high potential, locally differentiated with energy mix (including the respective share of renewables and fossils), climate zone, and the regulatory environment and price mechanism. Most identified studies suggest a mitigation potential between 1 and 20%. Load management becomes more relevant with higher shares of intermittent renewables, and when electricity prices are high. Importantly, load management aligns consumers' financial incentives with climate change mitigation, thus rendering accompanying strategies politically feasible. We summarize key regulatory steps to facilitate load management in economies and to realize relevant consumer surplus and mitigation potential.
title An Assessment of the CO$_2$ Emission Reduction Potential of Residential Load Management in Developing and Developed Countries
topic General Economics
Economics
Physics and Society
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.02811