Design of a weekly hybrid power market in China facilitating connection of large-scale renewable generation

Abstract

Summary In February 2002, the State Council of China published ‘Notice on Power Industry Reform’, which set out a clear road map for liberalising electricity industry in China. With the rapid development of large-scale renewable power and emergent surplus of generation capacity in major regional power systems, further market reform in China is necessary. This paper presents a weekly hybrid power market. The role of the administrative on-grid tariff system could be reduced and eventually withdrawn as the market matures and develops over time. This would eventually lead to a fully fledged power market. The competitive element of the hybrid market will initially be confined to coal-fired thermal units as they are by far the dominant generating source in China. The market is divided into two parts, block and hourly bidding. The block bidding is utilised in base load to reduce shutdown, and the hourly bidding is aimed at peak load to enhance flexibility. A linkage mechanism of settlement indirectly introduces grid companies and customers into the market. The simulation validates the well application of this hybrid power market to an actual large-scale power system. Rational results indicate the feasibility of this proposed market design. This design will provide some reference for other developing countries. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.