Abstract
With the integration of Intermitted Renewables Energy (I-RE) electricity production, capacity is shifting from central to decentral. So, the question is if it is also necessary to adjust the current load balancing system from a central to more decentral system. Therefore, an assessment is made on the overall effectiveness and costs of decentralized load balancing, using Flexible Renewable Energy (F-RE) in the shape of biogas, Demand Side Management (DSM), Power Curtailment (PC), and electricity Storage (ST) compared to increased grid capacity (GC). As a case, an average municipality in The Netherlands is supplied by 100% I-RE (wind and solar energy), which is dynamically modeled in the PowerPlan model using multiple scenarios including several combinations of balancing technologies. Results are expressed in yearly production mix, self-consumption, grid strain, Net Load Demand Signal, and added cost. Results indicate that in an optimized scenario, self-consumption of the municipality reaches a level of around 95%, the total hours per year production matches demand to over 90%, and overproduction can be curtailed without substantial losses lowering grid strain. In addition, the combination of balancing technologies also lowers the peak load to 60% of the current peak load in the municipality, thereby freeing up capacity for increased demand (e.g., electric heat pumps, electric cars) or additional I-RE production. The correct combination of F-RE and lowering I-RE production to 60%, ST, and PC are shown to be crucial. However, the direct use of DSM has proven ineffective without a larger flexible demand present in the municipality. In addition, the optimized scenario will require a substantial investment in installations and will increase the energy cost with 75% in the municipality (e.g., from 0.20€ to 0.35€ per kWh) compared to 50% (0.30€ per kWh) for GC. Within this context, solutions are also required on other levels of scale (e.g., on middle or high voltage side or meso and macro level) to ensure security of supply and/or to reduce overall costs.
Highlights
First, the effects of intermittent renewable technologies (I-renewable energies (RE)) sources on the electricity grid within the average municipality will be discussed, followed by the effects of introducing the balancing technologies, and a four-step optimization will be discussed to assess the effectiveness of decentralized load balancing
The effectiveness and cost of decentralized load balancing looking at multiple combinations of technologies is analyzed
Within this context, settling for a lower I-RE production in the municipality can already have a substantial impact on peak production, thereby avoiding local investment in grid reinforcements
Summary
The large-scale development of decentralized RE production can substantially change the dynamics of the electricity system [2,3,4,5,6,7,8], which depends on an exact balance between demand and supply, in order to ensure reliable delivery [2,3,9,10]. Balance is maintained top down through the use of large electricity plants and a well-developed electricity grid, which, for instance in The Netherlands, mainly operates on fossil energy sources (e.g., coal, natural gas) [2,11,12]. Studies indicate that load balancing requirements are expected to increase proportionally with growing I-RE production [3,5,6,9,13]. The question could be raised if it is necessary to adjust the current load balancing system [2,6,8], for instance, from a more central to a more decentral system; where balance is already achieved at a decentralized level close to I-RE production
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