Modeling electricity markets: a challenge for the future

A research platform partially funded by the Swiss Federal Office of Energy has been established at EPFL. It will provide a comprehensive tool for optimizing electricity management and commercialization within Switzerland and with neighboring countries. It's everywhere, it travels at the speed of light, but it's still invisible. The electricity that we all use without a second thought doesn't come from thin air, however. Behind the outlet in the wall, there are complex production, distribution, purchasing, selling and consumption networks that must be managed. The ELECTRA (Electricity markets and trade in Switzerland and its neighbouring countries) project, launched last week at EPFL with funding from the "Energy-Economy-Society" research program of the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), will develop tools to enable long-term modeling of the country's energy needs and resources in order to guarantee the country's electricity supply under the best conditions. The challenges in this sector are considerable. Electricity consumption in Switzerland is rising by about 1.3% per year. Even as several supply contracts with neighboring countries will be coming up for renewal, the government has just decided to progressively abandon nuclear power, which currently provides 40% of Switzerland's electricity. In addition, the depletion of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas and coal) used in neighboring countries will mean that the price of international energy exchanges will rise. Production fluctuations and economic models - What will European electricity networks look like in 2050?