Comparative Analysis of Cross-Border and Cross Sector Approaches for Flexibility in the Nordic Countries

The Nordic electricity sector is on track to become fully decarbonized thanks to the large uptakes of electricity from renewable energy sources. However, future carbon-free energy systems create new challenges for the flexibility of supply. This study assesses four scenarios, building either on electricity market coupling or sector coupling between heat and electricity, that enable flexibility in the Nordic countries.

We show that the critical role played by these countries in the European transition affects both investment choices and flexible operation of the resources available in the electricity and heat sectors. While the sector-coupling approach results in substantial economic gains from a system perspective, other redistributions of benefits enabled by the cross-border approach need to be considered too in designing appropriate energy policies and road maps.