Water is easier to store than electricity and water utilities can turn it into cash Collaborative automation between water networks and virtual energy market
Collaborative automation between water networks and virtual energy market The virtual energy market is taking place. New actors are collecting opportunities to reduce subsequently energy demand for short periods of time at peak hours, or at the opposite to absorb energy surplus in case of high production level (in particular from renewable energy sources) at low demand hours. Considering the large volume of water storage and the pumping capabilities, the water networks offer good opportunities for this business. To make this happen, it is necessary to provide new control systems and analytic decision making tools, ensuring that the water demand will be entirely fulfilled, evaluating the economic equation, and providing the best strategy to make the most of the virtual energy market. These new features are enabled by Arrowhead tehnology and are prototyped by Schneider electric, Artelys and INP Grenoble. Collaborative automation between water networks and virtual energy market brings the opportunity to turn operation flexibility of the water network into an energy consumption flexibility. Benefits are both on the grid side and on the water network side (where energy costs can be reduced).
The Arrowhead demonstrator from a functional point of view New features to calculate and to manage demand response offers on the water network side Link with Aquis, hydraulic simulation of the water network Link with Energy & Water management dashboard A basic use case example Based on the previsional pumping plan and the energy prices dynamic context, modulation capability for 24 coming hours are calculated and ranked. These modulation respect the pressure due to the customer, the water networks operationnal rules (pressure modification limits, water quality, ), and reduce the overall energy bill. Water network manager For each potential modulation, the water network manager is able to run what-if scenarios: vizualise the prevision for pumping plan, for tanks storage, for pressure levels. He sends to the agregator the modulation offers he has selected. Aggregator The aggregator is then able to select the modulation offer that match with his own demand resource portfolio. After confirmation, the water network is comitted to provide the demand resource if required. He will get fees for this available capacity. When the demand resource is required, the updated pumping plan is automatically sent to operation system. At any time, thanks to connected Energy Operation System, the water network manager is able to monitor and check the energy and cost efficiency of the system.
The demonstrator from a technical point of view The collaboration between the water network and the virtual energy market relies on four pillars: the sharing of dynamic information, the analytics algorithms for the calculation of the pumping modulation capabilities, of the pumping strategy that will optimize the economic benefits, the transactional capabilities between the water network and the smart-grid aggregators, the operational link with the field control system of the water network. Arrowhead brings the technology that will make heterogeneous systems cooperate efficiently, ensuring interoperability and required quality of services.
To know more about Demand Response in Smart Grid context By managing flexibility, demand-side is becoming a resource Electrical networks face a number of problems: related to high peaks of consumption, related to massive introduction of renewable energy or to network instabilities due to aging infrastructure. The resolution of these problems requires, among other solutions, the flexibility of demand to smooth the load demand curve and to lower the spare capacity. Two types of mechanisms Variable prices, that influence the energy consumption profile of the customer statistically Direct control, consisting in calling a consumption reduction (or increase) on the demand side via a signal from the energy utility. The energy is traded in markets and like energy coming from any production resources. The structure of the payment includes capacity (resource availability) and the energy actual consumption response (decrease or increase). Overview of Demand Side Management - Source Basic Aggregators collect and manage demand resources New actors act on the capacity market, which is the most common market. This participation is made (99%) via aggregators (e.g. Energy Pool) that create a pool of customers that can modulate their consumption (shedding or activating loads) and contract with an energy utility the committed availability of power capacity. Today, most of demand side players are energy intensive plants which can stop processing or backup energy on local source. Tomorrow, many plants, buildings, infrastructures will be «demand response ready(*)». Analytics and energy aware control systems are the key tools to make it possible. Actors of Demand Side Management - Source Basic (*)Demand response ready: the capability of modulate the energy consumption without modification of the quality service provided by the consumer (comfort of a building, production of a manufacturing plant, pressure delivered to customers by a water distribution network)
Contacts: alfredo.samperio@schneider-electric.com alexandre.marie@artelys.com denis.genon-catalot@lcis.grenoble-inp.fr