From Curtailment to Energy Security: A Systematic Review of Optimization and Flexibility Strategies in High-Renewable Power Systems

The rapid expansion of wind and solar generation has significantly increased the share of variable renewable energy in power systems worldwide, introducing new operational challenges. Among these, the simultaneous growth of renewable energy curtailment and persistent blackout risk reveals structural limitations in energy planning and system flexibility. This study conducts a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) following the PRISMA protocol to examine how the scientific literature has addressed the relationship between curtailment, energy security, and optimization strategies in high-renewable power systems. A total of 53 Q1-indexed articles published between 2021 and 2025 were analyzed using bibliometric and qualitative content analysis techniques. The results indicate that curtailment should not be interpreted solely as an operational inefficiency but rather as a potential flexibility asset when integrated with energy storage systems, power-to-X technologies, demand-side management, and stochastic optimization frameworks. The findings also highlight a shift from deterministic planning approaches toward robust and distributionally aware models capable of managing renewable uncertainty. Despite significant advances, geographic imbalances in case studies and limited integration between regulatory mechanisms and technical optimization remain key research gaps. This review contributes by synthesizing mitigation strategies into a structured flexibility framework and by outlining research directions for enhancing reliability in renewable-dominated systems.