UNS: Environmental Impacts of Using Distributed Energy Storage for Power System Reserves

该项目的目标是调查将分布式储能(DES)用于电力系统储备的环境影响，并制定操作策略以减轻该系统的环境负担。随着更多可再生能源被整合到电力系统中，需要额外的储备来确保系统的功能和可靠性。DES是提供这种储备的发电机的一种很有前途的替代方案，因为一般来说，这些资源比传统发电厂反应更快，成本也越来越有竞争力。由于DES系统在运行过程中的低排放，通常被认为是为了减少对环境的影响。然而，由于电力系统的复杂性，在某些系统配置、发电组合和备用要求下，DES的使用可能会导致负面结果。因此，彻底评估为保护区引入DES的环境影响是很重要的。利用生命周期评估(LCA)，研究人员将调查提供DES储量对环境的全面影响。此外，他们还将开发一种简化的LCA，可以向电力系统运营商提供关于环境影响的实时反馈。这项工作将推进工业生态和电力系统领域的发展。为评估使用DES作为电力系统备用的环境影响，LCA将与最优潮流(OPF)方法相结合。虽然化石燃料燃烧预计将是生命周期环境影响的主要贡献者，但使用DES的短暂产品寿命和运营影响表明了上下游影响的重要性，以及生命周期评价需要有力地确定环境绩效。这项工作的一个关键贡献是应用模型简化技术来开发简化形式的LCA，以便可以实时计算近似影响并在OPF中使用。这些方法支持使用生命周期评价进行主动反馈响应，可以很容易地定制用于其他系统，如交通和水处理。该项目还通过将生命周期环境影响纳入目标函数和/或约束条件，推进了最优规划问题的提法。这将有助于我们了解系统运行成本和环境效益之间的权衡，为系统运营商和政策制定者提供信息。该项目将通过调整向系统运行提供主动反馈的方法来推进生命周期评价的效用。这项研究的结果将确定改善发电环境结果的操作战略，并为从战略上消除参与DES障碍的公共政策提供信息。该项目还将通过让本科生参与研究活动和为K-12学生开展适合年龄的教育活动来产生教育影响。该团队将编制一份关于DES的情况说明书，由密歇根大学可持续系统中心分发，作为学生、研究人员和政策制定者免费获得的公共资源。该项目还将支持为环境专业学生和电气工程师开发两个模块，将其纳入课程。

1510788Johnson, JeremiahThe objective of this project is to investigate the environmental impacts of using distributed energy storage (DES) for power system reserves and to develop operational strategies to mitigate the environmental burdens of the system. As more renewable energy sources are integrated into the power system, additional reserves are required to ensure the functionality and reliability of the system. DES is a promising alternative to generators for providing such reserves because, in general, these resources are more responsive than conventional power plants and costs are increasingly competitive. Due to their low emissions during operation, DES systems are often assumed to reduce environmental impacts. However, due to the complex nature of the power system, the use of DES may lead to negative outcomes under certain system configurations, generation mixes, and reserve requirements. Thus, it is important to thoroughly evaluate the environmental impacts of introducing DES for reserves. Using life cycle assessment (LCA), the researchers will investigate the full environmental impact of providing reserves with DES. Additionally, they will develop a reduced-form LCA that can provide real-time feedback on environmental impacts to power system operators. This work will advance the fields of industrial ecology and power systems. To evaluate the environmental impact of using DES for power system reserves, LCA will be coupled to optimal power flow (OPF) methods. While fossil fuel combustion is expected to be a major contributor to life cycle environmental impacts, the short product lifetime and operational impacts of using DES demonstrate the importance of upstream and downstream impacts and the need for LCA to robustly determine environmental performance. A key contribution of this work is the application of model reduction techniques to develop reduced-form LCAs so that approximate impacts can be calculated in real-time and used within the OPF. These methods which support the use of LCA for active feedback response could be readily tailored for use in other systems such as transportation and water treatment. This project also advances the formulation of the OPF problem by incorporating life cycle environmental impacts into the objective function and/or constraints. This will help us understand the tradeoff between system operation costs and environmental benefits, informing system operators and policy makers. This project will advance the utility of LCA by tailoring the method to provide active feedback to systems operations. The results of this study will identify operational strategies that improve environmental outcomes for power generation and inform public policies that strategically remove of barriers to participation for DES. This project will also yield educational impacts through the involvement of undergraduate students in research activities and the development of age-appropriate educational activities for K-12 students. The team will develop a factsheet on DES distributed by the Center for Sustainable Systems at the University of Michigan, to serve as a freely available public resource for students, researchers, and policy makers. This project will also support the development of two modules to be integrated into courses for environmental professional students and electrical engineers.