A Digital Tool Set to Solve Key Energy Transition Challenges in Power Distribution Grids

Transcription

1 A Digital Tool Set to Solve Key Energy Transition Challenges in Power Distribution Grids Stéphane Rapoport, Parvathy Chittur Ramaswamy, Stijn Cole, Christophe Del Marmol, Sébastien Leyder Energy Transition Department, Tractebel, ENGIE. Submission Category: Grid Intelligence 1 Page

2 SMART SIZING a new Digital tool to optimise power distribution grid planning in an energy transition world! 1. WHY THE POWER DISTRIBUTION WORLD NEEDS A NEW DIGITAL TOOL THE SMART SIZING? Heightened by the COP21 Climate Conference in Paris, the pressure to face the climate challenges of the 21 st Century continues to increase. For Distribution System Operators (DSO) the resulting dramatic changes that have been taking place in electrical distribution grids for several years are only expected to amplify. It is anticipated that distributed power generation (mainly solar photovoltaic and wind) will supply a significant share of the electrical consumption in developed countries. New forms of consumption such as electrical vehicles, heat pumps, etc. are also emerging with an increasing role for storage. As the level, the type and location of both the load and the decentralised generation affect the operational costs (including losses) of the distribution network and thus its global energy efficiency, this is important. Challenges for expanding and reinforcing distribution networks in developing countries are as significant. Disruptive investments and operation strategies are therefore being looked at by DSO to find ways to face these changes while containing their costs and increasing renewable hosting capacity. Solutions include: new grid and digital technologies allowing higher levels of automation with increased monitoring and control capabilities. Opportunities are also appearing for consumers and market players to provide flexibility services to these grid operators. These global evolutions of the power system are now generally referred to as Smart Grid. But the problem remains, while the energy transition is materializing in distribution grids through higher shares of distributed generation and new control devices, the core methodologies and tools for developing and operating distribution grids have remained largely unchanged in the last decade. No one is able to fully grasp the energy transition impact at distribution level using traditionally sound technical-economic approaches as they prove erroneous - overweighting improbable worst cases and not considering the cost-reduction opportunities of new control devices and flexibility options in the energy transition context. 2. WHY WE CONSIDER SMART SIZING AN IMPORTANT INNOVATION? This paper presents a new designed for-purpose simulation tool - Smart Sizing. It has been developed by Tractebel through participation in national and international Research and Development (R&D) projects in the fields of distribution and Smart Grids. Nothing comparable exists on the market. The Smart Sizing tool itself allows modelling of both technical and economic aspects when planning investments in the distribution grid. More specifically, the tool quantitatively assesses how the integration of demand response in DSOs planning and operation can help define the optimal trade-off between CAPEX (Capital expenditure) and OPEX (Operational expenditure) spending. CAPEX in a distribution network is related to investment in equipment/asset replacement and upgrade. The conductors, the transformers, the cells of the feeders, but also the ICT infrastructure of a Smart Grid are included. The OPEX represents the cost of losses in the network and the demand response activation costs. Thermal losses are inevitable in a distribution network. However, the correct sizing of the network components and the demand response can reduce this significantly; while assuring better asset investments. The demand response activation costs are related to the variable cost induced by the activation of the flexibility. In short, as shown in Figure 1., the tool allows a global optimization of OPEX and CAPEX by selecting the optimal mix of traditional (network component costs and cost of losses) and flexibility (ICT infrastructure cost allowing demand response and activation cost of the demand response) based investments. 2 Page

3 Figure 1 Planning of distribution grids accounts for security constraints and OPEX/CAPEX trade-off On a practical level, several different scenarios are built in order to study the effect of: The characteristics of the distribution network; The unitary costs of the components of the network; The penetration level of distributed generation; The type of flexibility; The value of the losses; The activation costs of the flexibility; Therefore the main innovative aspects of the new tool take into account: multiple and possibly conflicting objectives (e.g. operation and infrastructure costs); modelling of both distributed generation (PV, wind, CHP, ) and the distribution grid; Modelling of all flexibility sources (Demand Response, generation, storage). Benchmark research has clearly shown that to date, these innovations are indeed absent in all existing commercial tools making the Smart Sizing tool, as graphically summarized as in Figure 2., a first of its kind. Figure 2 SMART SIZING TOOL: global optimization of distribution network planning and operation Figure 3 illustrates the kind of result that the Smart Sizing tool can provide. In this example, the total cost (CAPEX + OPEX) is given in % (y-axis) for several Demand Response activation costs (colored lines) as compared to the case 3 Page

4 without generation and without flexibility. The x-axis represents the percentage of Distributed Generation (DG) as compared to the peak load. Figure 3 - SMART SIZING TOOL: examples of provided results In general, the new tool allows a far greater understanding the revolutions ongoing at distribution level both in developed and developing countries worldwide. Last but not least, the tool as it exists today is scalable towards future business needs with limited effort. 3. WHAT VALUE HAS THE SMART SIZING TOOL ACHIEVED AND WHAT DOES IT PROMISE? For Grid operators/utilities Infrastructure as well as operational planning including flexibility Assessing the impact of: DGs and their tariffs EVs and their charging mode Storage Operational limits on the operational planning of the network Assessing the simultaneous impact of flexible loads and DGs For Regulators Assessing the economic impact of flexibility on the system costs (societal perspective) Evaluating interaction models between system operator For Flexibility Service Providers/Prosumers Assessing the value of flexibility 4. TO WHAT EXTENT HAS THE SMART SIZING TOOL BEEN SUCCESSFULLY DEPLOYED? The Smart Sizing tool has been deployed in 2014 and in 2015 across different R&D projects. It has benefited from the partnerships and international DSO participation in several R&D projects, namely Greenlys/Inflection, GREDOR and PlanGridEV in which Tractebel has been involved to build new tools for European DSOs. The methods behind its development have been recognized by the scientific community and key achievements were published in 2 peerreviewed scientific papers. 4 Page

5 Project 1: GREDOR project (Belgium) Partners: ULG, UMONS, ELIA, ORES, RESA TECTEO, EDF LUMINUS Detailed objective: The project aims at developing new operational software tools to improve the power system operation and planning by relying on new smart grid technologies. These tools will address investment decisions, operational planning and real time operation of Medium Voltage (MV) distribution grids models to enable massive integration of renewable. Moreover new business and interaction models are developed involving all players (TSOs, DSOs, retailers, aggregators, etc.). Role of Tractebel: Leader of the work package on investment planning + contribution on interaction models. Project 2: PlanGridEV project (Europe) Partners: RWE, ENEL, EDP, ESB, ETH, SAPIENZA, TUDortmund, Tecnalia, Inesc Lisboa, AIT, Renault Detailed objective: This project aims at developing new planning rules and operational principles for managing electricity distribution grids. The focus is put on scenarios of large scale integration of electric vehicles (EV) at the EU level. The maximization of the penetration potential of renewable and distributed energy sources is also a key element of the project. Depending on the scenarios, EVs are treated as either Demand Response sources (flexible charging) or storage devices (Vehicle to Grid). Role of Tractebel: Leader of the work package on the development of grid methods and tools. Project 3: Distribution Master Plan for Ivory Coast up to 2030, , for CI-ENERGIES Client: CI-ENERGIES (Société des Energies de Côte d Ivoire) Detailed objective: The study has for goal to determine the current and future distribution network challenges for Ivory Coast. In particular to: determine the target distribution architecture of the large towns for 2030 provide the optimum voltage level of the urban and interurban distribution grids define development strategies according to the level of demand determine the sequences of investments of the urban and interurban grids identify necessary loops for optimized operation of the distribution network Project 4: Due diligences and energy efficiency studies for distribution grids: Identifying energy efficiency improvements and saving potential in energy networks and demand response, 2015, for the European Commission. 5 Page