Benefits of demand-side response in providing frequency response service in the future GB power system

The demand for ancillary service is expected to increase significantly in the future Great Britain (GB) electricity system due to high penetration of wind. In particular, the need for frequency response, required to deal with sudden frequency drops following a loss of generator, will increase because of the limited inertia capability of wind plants. This paper quantifies the requirements for primary frequency response and analyses the benefits of frequency response provision from demand-side response (DSR). The results show dramatic changes in frequency response requirements driven by high penetration of wind. Case studies carried out by using an advanced stochastic generation scheduling model suggest that the provision of frequency response from DSR could greatly reduce the system operation cost, wind curtailment, and carbon emissions in the future GB system characterized by high penetration of wind. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that the benefit of DSR shows significant diurnal and seasonal variation, whereas an even more rapid (instant) delivery of frequency response from DSR could provide significant additional value. Our studies also indicate that the competing technologies to DSR, namely battery storage, and more flexible generation could potentially reduce its value by up to 35%, still leaving significant room to deploy DSR as frequency response provider

Challenges of Primary Frequency Control and Benefits of Primary Frequency Response Support from Electric Vehicles

As the integration of wind generation displaces conventional plants, system inertia provided by rotating mass declines, causing concerns over system frequency stability. This paper implements an advanced stochastic scheduling model with inertia-dependent fast frequency response requirements to investigate the challenges on the primary frequency control in the future Great Britain electricity system. The results suggest that the required volume and the associated cost of primary frequency response increase significantly along with the increased capacity of wind plants. Alternative measures (e.g. electric vehicles) have been proposed to alleviate these concerns. Therefore, this paper also analyses the benefits of primary frequency response support from electric vehicles in reducing system operation cost, wind curtailment and carbon emissions

Energy storage in the UK electrical network : estimation of the scale and review of technology options

This paper aims to clarify the difference between stores of energy in the form of non-rechargeable stores of energy such as fossil-fuels, and the storage of electricity by devices that are rechargeable. The existing scale of these two distinct types of storage is considered in the UK context, followed by a review of rechargeable technology options. The storage is found to be overwhelmingly contained within the fossil-fuel stores of conventional generators, but their scale is thought to be determined by the risks associated with long supply chains and price variability. The paper also aims to add to the debate regarding the need to have more flexible supply and demand available within the UK electrical network in order to balance the expected increase of wind derived generation. We conclude that the decarbonisation challenge facing the UK electricity sector should be seen not only as a supply and demand challenge but also as a storage challenge. (c) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

The Innovation Interface: Business model innovation for electric vehicle futures

There is huge potential to link electric vehicles, local energy systems, and personal mobility in the city. By doing so we can improve air quality, tackle climate change, and grow new business models. Business model innovation is needed because new technologies and engineering innovations are currently far ahead of the energy system’s ability to accommodate them. This report explores new business models that can work across the auto industry, transport infrastructure and energy systems

Regulatory Challenges to Energy Storage Deployment An Overview of the UK Market

This working paper investigates how the UK is currently integrating energy storage technologies into its electricity markets, the regulatory barriers it is facing, and how it is responding to these challenges. It was prepared by the ‘Realising Energy Storage Technologies in Low-carbon Energy Systems’ (RESTLESS) project, which is funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. The project is part of the EPSRC Energy Superstore Hub and is associated with the UK Energy Research Centre (UKERC). The authors are solely responsible for all of the analysis in this paper. Any views expressed in this paper are the authors’ and have not been endorsed by any of the organisations associated with the RESTLESS project

Whole-system assessment of the benefits of integrated electricity and heat system

The interaction between electricity and heat systems will play an important role in facilitating the cost effective transition to a low carbon energy system with high penetration of renewable generation. This paper presents a novel integrated electricity and heat system model in which, for the first time, operation and investment timescales are considered while covering both the local district and national level infrastructures. This model is applied to optimize decarbonization strategies of the UK integrated electricity and heat system, while quantifying the benefits of the interactions across the whole multi-energy system, and revealing the trade-offs between portfolios of (a) low carbon generation technologies (renewable energy, nuclear, CCS) and (b) district heating systems based on heat networks (HN) and distributed heating based on end-use heating technologies. Overall, the proposed modeling demonstrates that the integration of the heat and electricity system (when compared with the decoupled approach) can bring significant benefits by increasing the investment in the heating infrastructure in order to enhance the system flexibility that in turn can deliver larger cost savings in the electricity system, thus meeting the carbon target at a lower whole-system cost

The cost of active network management schemes at distribution level

The growth of wind generation in distribution networks is leading to the development of Active Network Management (ANM) strategies. ANM systems aim to increase the capacity of renewable and distributed generation (DG) that can connect to the network. In addition to DG, ANM schemes can also include storage devices and Demand Side Management (DSM) strategies. Currently ANM schemes are mainly part of network research and development programmes, funded through network innovation schemes. In future, ANM schemes will need to cover the costs of establishing such a scheme through payments from the network owners and the users of the network. This paper discusses the current charging arrangements which account for network upgrades and the access arrangements for wind farms connecting to networks which are close to capacity. The Orkney ANM scheme is used as a case study, where the costs of the implemented ANM scheme are compared to conventional network upgrades. In order to run ANM as a ‘business as usual’ case, there must be a way in which to recover the costs incurred in implementing and operating an ANM scheme on the network. These costs could be recovered through Use of System (UoS) charging, and there is an opportunity for domestic customers participating in an ANM scheme (through Demand Side Management, for example) to further reduce electricity bills by providing ancillary services to the network. ANM may increase the cost of electricity for domestic customers, however this increase can be considered substantially less than the cost incurred for significant network upgrades