Feasibility of employing domestic active demand for balancing wind power generation

Wind power suffers from two problems: it is non-dispatchable and thus cannot be altered to coincide with power demand and the predictability of wind power is limited. Controllable flexible resources are thus crucial when managing a particular energy portfolio with a considerable share of wind power. This paper therefore assesses the feasibility of employing domestic active demand for balancing wind power generation in a BRP (Balancing Responsible Party) portfolio. The analysis starts from a BRP portfolio consisting of gas-fired power plants and generators of wind power on the generation side, and residential and industrial consumers on the consumption side. The optimal balancing options (upward/downward regulation of GFPPs, intraday market, active demand services or paying imbalance costs to the TSO) to be taken by the BRP to minimize imbalance volumes are determined for different wind scenarios and imbalance pricing schemes based on simulations. The paper describes the methodology used and discusses the potential profit for the BRP when active demand is employed as a supplementary balancing option within the different scenarios.