Quantification of electrical system flexibility by local multi-energy systems: Impact of the system design and component interdependencies

Applied Energy, vol. 397, pp. 126342

Abstract

Multi-energy systems (MES) providing electrical flexibility will be essential for low-carbon power grids. With the aim of embedding flexibility provision into the design phase of local MES, the presented framework proposes a quantitative assessment of how the sizing of individual and interdependent components affects technical flexibility. It identifies key components that either enhance or reduce the flexibility of MES. The framework includes a sensitivity analysis that provides valuable technical insights, such as a deeper understanding of limiting factors and interdependencies between components across energy vectors. Moreover, flexibility is quantified over multiple time steps in relation to a predetermined reference schedule, which is particularly important for energy systems that must submit their planned schedule in advance, thus ensuring constant flexibility provision for a specified duration. The adopted case studies, which use a residential building and a local energy community, underpin the capabilities of the proposed framework and its applicability to energy systems with internal network constraints. One of the key findings is that the coupled flexibility from the heat vector significantly increases active power flexibility, i.e., the range of increase and decrease in its active power during operation. This anchors heat pumps as a linchpin coupling component between electricity and heat in MES. Furthermore, the interdependence between the maximum thermal output of the heat pump and the thermal capacity of the hot water storage tank was quantified by a linear threshold relation, beyond which increasing the size of the heat pump does not improve system flexibility.

Authors 5

1. Philipp Glücker corresponding Aachen

   The University of Melbourne · Forschungszentrum Jülich · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia

   Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institute of Climate and Energy Systems, ICE-1: Energy Systems Engineering, Jülich 52425, Germany

   RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52056, Germany

2. Sleiman Mhanna

   The University of Melbourne

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia

3. Thiemo Pesch

   Forschungszentrum Jülich

   Affiliation as printed

   Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institute of Climate and Energy Systems, ICE-1: Energy Systems Engineering, Jülich 52425, Germany

4. Andrea Benigni Aachen

   Forschungszentrum Jülich · Jülich Aachen Research Alliance · RWTH Aachen University

   Affiliation as printed

   Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, Institute of Climate and Energy Systems, ICE-1: Energy Systems Engineering, Jülich 52425, Germany

   JARA-Energy, Jülich 52425, Germany

   RWTH Aachen University, Aachen 52056, Germany

5. Pierluigi Mancarella

   The University of Melbourne · University of Manchester

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Manchester, M13 9PL Manchester, United Kingdom

   Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia