Energy transition: Electrification of demand and flexibility management

Abstract

The European agendas for the coming years progressively limit greenhouse gas emissions. This implies the replacement of fossil sources with renewable sources and the electrification of the demand. Electrification is most evident in two main sectors: road transport and space heating and cooling (mainly in the tertiary and residential sectors). Thus, the responsibility for emissions falls directly to the electricity generation mix and increases the pressure to replace conventional generators (fossil fuels) with renewable resources. This change entails a reduction in the control capacity of the network (both in frequency and voltage) due to the greater volatility of wind and solar energies in their distribution throughout the network. Better management of the flexibility that the demand can offer is needed to incorporate maximum renewable generation into the system. Different demand management strategies exist, which can consist of variable signal prices (implicit flexibility) or the establishment of flexibility markets (explicit flexibility), where the end consumer can participate through a representative manager for the provision of services of aggregation and of flexibility management. Distributed generation in the distribution network, the deployment of electric vehicle charging points and the electrification of heating/cooling systems add complexity to the distribution network’s operation. It is necessary to increase the observability of the medium and low voltage grid and to provide greater intelligence to the distribution management systems (smart grid), with a greater participation of consumers in the electricity value chain.