Energy self-consumers and renewable energy communities in Italy: New actors of the electric power systems
Abstract The new European Directive RED-II on the promotion of the use of renewable energy sources has introduced the concept of the Renewable Energy Community. This new entity has the potential to change the relations among end-users and the latter and the other actors of the energy sector. In particular, the electrical sector appears the most influenced by the implementation of this paradigm. Indeed, the need for self-consumption and for exploiting the full potential of renewable energy in a Renewable Energy Community influences how the end-users exchange energy with the power grid, the rules for their connection to the grid, the implementation of Demand Response and other energy manageme…
A Test Bench for a Blockchain-based Management of Smart Prosumers' Flexibility
To date, the European regulatory framework requires the development of new energy policies at the national level that can reduce overall consumption and support the implementation of customer-focused control and management systems. Therefore, it is necessary to study the feasibility of the various strategies available, especially for the involvement of residential users in services that can contribute to the management of the electricity grid. The advent of blockchain technology has enabled the development of new business models for the electricity market, opening this world to end users who previously did not have the opportunity to participate in energy trading and allowing the implementa…
Analysis of a Fast Reserve Unit Behaviour with Additional Modular Synthetic Inertia Control
The paper presents the results of a theoretical study on the behaviour of a battery storage system operated as a Fast Reserve Unit and equipped with additional synthetic inertia control. The Fast Reserve Unit is assumed connected to the transmission system of Sicily, operated as an isolated grid in order to show more clearly the effect of the Fast Reserve Unit intervention during a power imbalance. The unit is controlled also to provide synthetic inertia with a conventional control scheme and with a new scheme proposed by the authors and named “Modular Synthetic Inertia”. The latter has been conceived for offering a modular response as a function of the Rate of Change of Frequency, to avoid…
A Simulation Study for Assessing the Minimum Number of V2G Recharge Points in Favignana
Issues related to the stability of non-interconnected grids are of high relevance given the increasing presence of renewable sources in the power generation system. In order to ensure adequate levels of system's reliability, it is necessary to find new methods to ensure the stability of the electric grid. The present work proposes a methodology for the definition of the minimum number of Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) charging points that would allow the integration of 1 MW of photovoltaic power in the power grid of the Italian island of Favignana, electrically disconnected from the continental grid. Primary frequency regulation simulations are carried out in Matlab/Simulink environment for differen…
A Feasibility Study for the Transition to Electric Mobility in the Island of Favignana
The energy transition and climate neutrality are a short time scenario as climate concerns are rising fast. Small islands are natural microgrids in which the energy transition is subjected to economic and regulatory constraints and highly challenged by technical issues. As a first step, the Mediterranean island of Favignana has been considered in this study, to assess how electric mobility could impact the power system. According to the plans from the local decision makers, the island is moving towards a full public electric mobility in the near term, also due to the participation in the BloRin project. For this reason, a feasibility study about the technical and environmental impact of ele…
Stability Analysis in a Vietnam Small Island for the Deployment of a Nearshore Wave Power Plant
The requirement for a more sustainable energy mix is promoting the spreading of technologies supplied by renewable sources. However, the introduction of unprogrammable energy sources in small electrical grids could jeopardize the stability of the entire system. In this context, the paper analyses a small island in Vietnam, assessing the effects due to the installation of a new power plant supplied by sea wave energy. While the installation of this technology could represent a great opportunity to reduce the local energy dependence, on the other side the quality of the supply could be worsened. Solutions are assessed to allow a good network service.
Grid-forming converters. A critical review of pilot projects and demonstrators
Grid-forming control can be a useful solution for all dynamic issues in weak grids and for providing ancillary services. It represents the new frontier in modern power electronics, responding to the needs of power systems more and more rich in renewables and, for this reason, with lower inertia. Today, the research on grid-forming is mainly oriented to propose new and more effective control schemes and to evaluate their performances with simulation tools, but few works in the literature focus on the results of on-field experimentation. Therefore, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of grid-forming pilot projects and demonstrators developed worldwide. The work describes the mai…
A simulation study for assessing the impact of energy storage systems for Fast Reserve with additional synthetic inertia control on the Continental Europe synchronous area
This article shows the results of a simulation study on the application of battery storage systems for providing fast frequency regulation (the so-named Fast Reserve) with additional synthetic inertia control. The aim of the study is to assess the impact of the extension of the regulation provided by the FRUs to all the Continental Europe synchronous grid, with the same power proportions of the first Italian FRU auction. The simulations are conducted in two different scenarios: a base one related to 2020 and a future one related to 2040 and based on ENTSO-E projections for load and generation. The results show that, for the reference incident of 3000 MW, the frequency quality parameters in …