Abstract
Bitumen tanks were tested to investigate the capability of industrial heating loads to provide frequency response to an electric power system. A decentralized control algorithm was developed enabling the tanks to alter their power consumption in proportion to the variations of grid frequency. The control maintains the normal operation of tanks and causes little impact on their primary function of storing hot bitumen. Field investigations were undertaken on 76 tanks with power ratings from 17 to 75 $~$ kW. A model of a population of controlled tanks was developed. The behavior of the tanks was compared between the simulations and the field tests. The model of controlled tanks was then integrated with a simplified Great Britain power system model. It was shown that the controlled tanks were able to contribute to the grid frequency control in a manner similar to and faster than that provided by frequency-sensitive generation.
Highlights
F REQUENCY indicates the balance between generation and demand in a power system on a second-by-second basis
A series of field tests were undertaken in July 2013 by Open Energi, a commercial aggregator providing demand response services to the Great Britain (GB) system operator
The manually increased low temperature set-points overnight caused these tanks to be switched ON and OFF more frequently and reached the maximum number of switching events. Such tanks were unavailable for low frequency response during the field test
Summary
F REQUENCY indicates the balance between generation and demand in a power system on a second-by-second basis. Present operational practice of the GB power system allows demand, mainly the contracted large industrial loads such as steelworks [5], to be disconnected automatically by a low-frequency relay typically set at 49.7 Hz. If the frequency continues to drop below 48.8 Hz, as an emergency measure, demand on the public distribution networks will be disconnected automatically at stages to prevent shutdown of the power system [2]. If the frequency continues to drop below 48.8 Hz, as an emergency measure, demand on the public distribution networks will be disconnected automatically at stages to prevent shutdown of the power system [2] Such load shedding is activated only for a large frequency fall and requires manual reconnections after the frequency recovery. The work in [7] developed a grid-friendly control to shift power consumption of domestic appliances during the peak-demand period. Variations of temperature set-points of thermal loads may cause the internal temperature of a load to be outside its normal range
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