Community-based Virtual Power Plant A new way of organising the - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Community-based Virtual Power Plant A new way of organising the energy system Energy Days Eindhoven, 28 March 2019 Anna J Wieczorek School of Innovation Sciences Eindhoven University of Technology

Outline 1. Energy system in transition but slow progress 2. VPP as a solution but problematic 3. Community version 4. Interreg NWE cVPP project - space for learning 2

Current energy system is in transition The changes open windows of opportunity Broad context Technology TSO/DSO Research Infrastructure Industry Incumbent Politics systems Culture & routines Policy Markets & users x x x x x x x x x x 3

Radical systemic changes Are outcomes of an interplay of many factors Broad context Technology Research Infrastructure Industry Incumbent New system Politics systems Culture & routines Policy Markets & users Development of x x x x x x x xx x Manders, Wieczorek and Verbong, 2018

Energy transition is about a different ways of organising our energy system ENERGY TRANSITION 5

Two-fold problem • Energy system in transition, many efforts, variety of changes • But little progress Internally unorganised, ideologically Locked-in: reg. framework; overwhelming driven, lack critical mass, confined to market power of FF, supply-driven market niches model Picture by Luc van Summeren 6

Virtual Power Plant - A smart solution? 7

Transmission Network Distribution Network Picture by Luc van Summeren

Transmission Network Distribution Network Picture by Luc van Summeren

Transmission Network Distribution Network Picture by Luc van Summeren

Transmission Network Distribution Network Virtual Power Plant Picture by Luc van Summeren

Virtual Power Plant (VPP) Nothing new - Software-based solution - Aggregates distributed energy resources - Acts as coordinated single entity similar to a conventional power plant - Allows to perform roles in the electricity system: managing, trading - DER portfolio: DG, DR, ESS - Control architecture - Role in the system van Summeren, Wieczorek and Verbong, 2019 12

Many VPPs on the market Neighbourhood Campus 18 District City 14 Region Island Country Transnational 11 7 4 4% 0 15% 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 7% 44% Number of VPP projects per year 7% 7% 7% 7% • Initiated by: utilities, research centres • Aim: technical, grid stabilisation • Prosumers: ’self-interested autonomous agents’, financially driven, ’bought in’ to join • No empowerment, no democratisation, support to status quo van Summeren, Wieczorek and Verbong, 2019 13

Community version? 14

Interreg NWE project From VPP to cVPP Picture by Luc van Summeren 15

Empowering communities Community-based Virtual Power Plant Picture by Luc van Summeren 16

What makes VPP community-based? Community choices - Community needs & motivations - Ownership - Governance place-based, sectoral, interest-based, virtual - Distribution of risks and benefits - Engagement - Inclusiveness - Scale & nature of generation technology van Summeren, Wieczorek and Verbong, 2019 17 Hicks & Ison (2018), Walker & Devine-Wright (2008)

Community logic Community logic Roles van Summeren, Wieczorek and Verbong, 2019 18

Roles in the current system Fixed price, fixed tariff • Prosumers produce and pay DSP, TSO, SUP • Straightforward tarification structure • No incentives to be active players on intelligent market 20

Roles in the future energy system Creating value though flexibility Klaassen & Van der Laan, 2019 22

Interreg NWE cVPP project 24

In this project Testing in practice Comm unity- Community based Comm Comm -based Virtual unity- unity- Virtual Power based based Power Plant Virtual Virtual Plant Power Power NL - rural TD Plant Plant IR - dispersed Community -based Virtual Power Plant BE - social 25

In this project Supporting with research How can cVPP facilitate different way of organising energy system? - Community, Context, VPP - Upscaling, empowerment, decarbonisation, democratisation - Database, action research, testing, training, Master theses - Transdisciplinarity, integration, co-creation

Sustainability & societal relevance • cVPP - a new type of promising innovation • Can help re-organise the energy system • But will take a lot of struggle • Implications need to be studied • Science that matters http://www.nweurope.eu/projects/project-search/cvpp-community-based-virtual-power-plant/ a.j.wieczorek@tue.nl @AnnaJWieczorek, #cVPPproject 27