Financial viability of energy communities: The role of flexible assets, balancing market participation and peer-to-peer trading
研究了配备电动汽车、光伏和电池储能的能源社区通过点对点交易和参与平衡市场降低能源成本的效果，发现平衡市场参与对光伏和储能投资盈利至关重要，但光伏投资净现值为负，延迟投资可增加价值。
Energy communities accelerate the green transition by enabling prosumers and non-generating households to benefit from electricity exchange and cost savings. At the same time, there is a need for more flexibility providers in the balancing markets, creating opportunities for energy communities to reduce energy costs and enhance grid stability. This paper examines the financial viability of energy communities equipped with electric vehicles, photovoltaics, and battery energy storage systems, that are actively engaged in peer-to-peer trading and participating in the balancing markets. Our optimization model applied to a case study in Norway shows a substantial reduction in energy costs for the energy community through peer-to-peer trading and participation in reserve markets. Balancing market participation is crucial to ensure profitability of investment in photovoltaics and battery energy storage systems. However, solar investments only yield negative net present values even if the revenue of the balancing markets is present. To account for uncertainties in future costs of battery energy storage systems and photovoltaics, we develop a real option investment valuation model, which reveals additional value by deferring solar investments, making them more profitable. Furthermore, an important finding is that incorporating the operational flexibility of assets in the optimization model substantially reduces exposure to the volatility of spot and balancing market prices in the long-term investment model.