The energy transition is putting the market and the grid to the test: electricity from wind and sun is to be used better. Currently, however, not all players are included in the energy system accordingly. In cooperation with GridLab, we have set our market and grid models to the system status of the year 2030. This allowed us to investigate plausible scenarios and draw conclusions about the future demand for flexibility.
Duration: 012.2016 - 03.2021
Funding source: BMWI Bundesministeriums für Wirtschaft und Energie (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy)
Participating organizational units of UL: Chair for Energy Management and Sustainability
WindNODE – Showcasing smart energy systems from northeastern Germany
Background
The Energy Industry Act strictly demarcates grid operation and market operations. The electricity price on wholesale markets reflects supply and demand and should not be limited in its level by regulation. Therefore, such prices do not contain any incentives for system operators and electricity customers to behave in a grid-serving manner and to comply with physical limitations of the grid infrastructure. In the event of foreseeable violations of the technical restrictions, the grid operators secure grid operation through the use of system services (SDL), including congestion management with conventional power plants. In extreme cases, wind power plants, for example, also have to be switched off. Since the market share and the local availability of controllable power plants will gradually decrease in the coming years, renewable energies and so-called non-conventional flexibility options, such as battery storage, load management and power-to-X plants, will increasingly have to provide the SDL in the future. The interventions of the grid operators in the market-oriented schedules of the power plants and the associated economic costs have increased significantly over the past ten years. In addition to the rising costs, the quantities of green electricity that cannot be integrated into the grid, amounting to several terawatt hours (TWh), are also a reason to think about suitable countermeasures.
Project objective
What are the reasons for grid bottlenecks today, and how can the development up to the year 2030 be assessed? Can a need for the use of grid-serving flexibility be derived from this? From which technical options should the flexibility be provided? What role does peer-to-peer electricity trading play in this?
Approach
Flex atlas: First, the question of how much flexibility is already available in the WindNODE region was answered. The database includes public databases as well as our own research and is divided into the following flex types: firstly, classic end consumers (DSM), secondly, generation plants, thirdly, energy storage and fourthly, power-to-X plants. The largest contribution to the technical flexibility potential is made by conventional and renewable generation plants. In view of the need for negative flexibility (electricity sinks), especially for grid congestion management, shutting down wind and PV is not desirable from a climate policy perspective. Alternatively, a mix of the flexibility options CHP plants, pumped storage, power-to-heat, biomass and load management would currently be available.
Flex demand: The demand for flexibility can result, among other things, from price differences on the wholesale markets (day ahead, intraday) and from the provision of system services. The coupling of the German market area with other European price zones led to a smoothing of price peaks in recent years, despite the expansion of renewable energies. This also reduced the value for the use of short-term flexibility. Based on the power plant availability of the grid development plan and the assumption of an ambitious roadmap for the coal phase-out, shortage situations (dark lulls) of several weeks could occur, especially in the winter months. This mainly increases the need for positive flexibility (electricity interconnections or load shedding). Increasing price differences are also expected in the remaining hours of the year, which will lead to a higher contribution margin compared to the status quo. If all expansion measures of the network development plan are implemented, there will be practically no congestion in the network area by 2030/35. The activation of flexibility, for example via a local market platform, would be limited to outage events of larger grid facilities or the peak capping provided for in the Energy Industry Act. However, considerable potential can be expected if there are delays in the implementation of the grid development plan. Through the amended Grid Expansion Acceleration Act (NABEG amendment), plants with a capacity of 100 kW or more can already be obliged to provide flexibility as part of congestion management. This reduces the potential of possible plants that could generate additional revenues from grid-serving flexibility via a market platform.
Labchain: Existing solutions for P2P markets are often characterized by individual, concrete market and system designs - a comprehensive research infrastructure for experimental energy industry research is not available. Therefore, a virtual test lab was developed that combines user interaction with an open data layer and a blockchain from Fraunhofer FOKUS for the securitization of bids and liabilities. This enables the participants of the experiment to (simulated) operate systems as well as trade on flexibly designable simulated markets. This allows a variety of system and market constellations to be investigated, providing insights into the design of future P2P markets.
Showroom: How will dispatchers in a control room be able to operate the power grid of 2030 safely? What tools will be needed for this in the control room? To what extent will flexibility from the distribution grids contribute to grid congestion management? And what role will market-oriented solutions play in this? These questions were addressed by a team of experts from the University of Leipzig and GridLab in discussions with trade visitors at the Schönefeld site and in webinars.
Benefits
The planned grid expansion and the expected expansion of plants obliged to serve the grid as a result of the NABEG amendment significantly limit the need for the transmission system operator to use a regionalized market platform. However, the integration of flexible loads such as classic industrial end consumers and power-to-X plants has been largely neglected in the regulation of congestion management to date. A timely start of the identification of these demand-side potentials on a market platform could represent an added value for grid planning as well as for the general security of supply - especially if there are delays in the implementation of grid expansion. The ability to determine local price signals could also trigger investment dynamics and associated cost reduction effects for technologies that are systemically needed as part of a comprehensive energy transition. In addition, flexible loads would be able to ensure CO2-neutral balancing within the framework of congestion management.
