Determination of the optimal proportion of renewable energy based on the total social cost

With the development of large-scale renewable energy, how to plan the scale of renewable energy development has become a key research issue. Based on the total social cost, this paper proposes a calculation method for the optimal proportion of renewable energy development scale. The total social cost is obtained by calculating the investment and construction cost, fuel cost, environmental cost and reserve cost when the proportion of renewable energy is different. By analyzing the relationship between the proportion of renewable energy and the total social cost, the optimal proportion of renewable energy can be obtained. Case study using a practical power grid is performed for validation purpose. Study results indicate that the proposed method can obtain the optimal proportion of renewable energy development with the lowest cost, which can support the implementation of the national renewable energy quota system.