Provision of frequency containment reserves with batteries and power-to-heat

Jomaux, Julien [UCL] Mercier, Thomas [UCL] De Jaeger, Emmanuel [UCL]

Frequency Containment Reserves (FCR), previously referred to as primary reserves, are an important component for the safe operation of the Continental Europe grid. The growing share of renewables represents a forthcoming challenge since FCR are generally provided by synchronous generators. In this paper, batteries are associated with a power-to-heat system (P2H) composed of electrical resistances, allowing a very high flexibility as well as a valorization of the generated heat. They are controlled to react first, leading to a significant reduction of the battery use while allowing a satisfactory regulation of the battery's stored energy. This is made possible by adding an offset that allows the proposed system to consume power in average. In addition, batteries are controlled to only provide downward regulation and they are consequently smaller than in other propositions. An economic modelling has been realized and based on time simulations with actual frequency data.