What can PV self-supply do for system integration?

PV self-supply has been a key economic driver for increasing PV installations in Germany during the past years. The main economic advantage are the lower levelized costs of electricity from PV rooftop systems compared to grid electricity. Based on the European Renewable Energy Directive, self-supply systems benefit from wide ex-emptions from surcharges and network charges. PV self-supply systems are expected to require lower feed-in tariffs as well as to foster system integration by motivating households and industries to optimize consumption to match PV generation better in order to benefit from their own PV installations. We examine the effects of different shares of PV self-supply systems on electricity prices and the revenue situation of other market participants. We see small to moderate effects on electricity prices. While most other electricity generators are largely unaffected, peak units as well as battery storage systems face revenue reductions. Furthermore, we examine network charge exemptions and quantify effects on the network costs allocated to different consumer groups.