Building as a Power Plant: The use of buildings to provide demand response

拟议可行性研究的目的是评估建筑物对电网提供需求响应的潜力。需求响应是管理网格约束的一种方式。这项工作与联合王国的电力系统有关，因为温室气体减排目标预计将导致更多地使用可再生能源和更大的电力需求（通过供热和运输负荷的电气化），这两者都会影响电网未来的运营方式。英国政府希望支持电力系统的灵活性，最近要求提供证据以支持更大灵活性的发展。需求响应计划通常涉及由国家电网协调的非常大的需求中心。在这种情况下，我们感兴趣的是小得多的负载（可以组合在一起），可以为本地配电网络运营商提供服务。考虑到建筑物的热和电气特性，建筑物可以提供显著的需求侧响应能力。这在城市地区可能特别有用，因为未来城市电网可能会承受更大的压力。建筑物可以单独运行，也可以与城市地区的其他站点和资产协调，形成虚拟电厂。我们建议研究的建筑是城市科学大楼。城市科学大楼位于科学中心，这是一个占地24英亩的物理场地，由纽卡斯尔大学和纽卡斯尔市理事会合作开发，旨在提供一个智能，可持续，有弹性的城市，将城市环境中的能源，交通和数字基础设施联系起来。该建筑将是一个独特的环境和“生活”实验室。城市科学大楼配备了数百个传感器，可以测量能源供应和需求。该建筑结合了光伏发电和大规模并网电池存储。这两种技术可以响应本地网络对服务的需求（例如调峰），并且在主电源丢失的情况下也可以作为建筑物的电源（即孤岛运行）。因此，由于建筑物中的负载和发电类型，该建筑物是理想的研究对象。该地点也是理想的研究地点，因为网络是仪器化的，其他负载也在附近。学术团队拥有必要的技能来提供拟议的工作方案，因为该团队拥有建筑物，电网和存储方面的研究专长。该团队还受益于与许多工业合作伙伴的合作，这些合作伙伴带来了类似领域的商业专业知识。这确保项目团队了解各方的需求，包括：建筑设计师（霍金斯·布朗、布罗·哈博尔德、NG贝利）建筑施工人员（Bower and Kirkjland）建筑运营商（纽卡斯尔大学地产部）建筑能源管理系统提供商（西门子）配电网运营商（北方电网）场地所有者和开发商（纽卡斯尔市理事会）现场能源服务提供商（Engie）国内房地产开发商这些行业和公共部门的合作伙伴通过咨询委员会为项目团队提供指导。城市科学大楼将被详细研究，以分析负荷和发电量的大小，可用的响应速度和响应的潜在持续时间。在完成这项分析及了解用电需求回应的性质后，我们便会量化本地及更广泛的网络及其营办商所获得的利益。运营该建筑物以提供需求方响应服务将需要改变该建筑物的管理。我们将定义新的建筑能源管理系统结构的标准。我们亦计划研究影响单幢楼宇或多组资产提供需求回应服务的市场障碍和推动因素。

The aim of the proposed feasibility study is to evaluate the potential for buildings to provide demand response to electrical networks. Demand response is a way of managing grid constraints. This work is relevant to the UK's electricity system, since greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets are expected to result in greater use of renewables and greater electricity demand (through electrification of heat and transport loads), both of which impact on the way the electricity grid will operate in the future. The UK Government wishes to support flexibility in the electricity system, and recently requested evidence to support the development of greater flexibility.Demand response programs typically involve very large demand centres, co-ordinated by National Grid. In this instance we are interested in much smaller loads (which could be grouped together), which could offer services to the local Distribution Network Operator. Buildings can provide significant Demand Side Response capabilities given the nature of the thermal and electrical properties of buildings. This may be particularly useful in urban areas, where the electricity grid may be under greater strain in the future.Buildings could operate individually, or coordinate with other sites and assets in urban areas to form a Virtual Power Plant. The building we propose to study is the Urban Sciences Building. The Urban Sciences Building is located on Science Central, a 24-acre physical site being developed in partnership between Newcastle University and Newcastle City Council to provide a smart, sustainable, resilient city which links energy, transport and digital infrastructure in an urban context. The building will be a unique environment and a 'living' laboratory. The Urban Sciences Building is equipped with hundreds of sensors that can measure energy supply and demand. The building incorporates photovoltaic generation and large scale grid-connected battery storage. These two technologies can respond to local network needs for services (e.g. peak-shaving), and also act as a power source for the building in case of loss of mains power (i.e. islanded operation). The building is therefore ideal to study, due to the types of load and generation in the building. The site is also ideal to study, since the network is instrumented and other loads are close by.The academic team has the necessary skills to deliver the proposed programme of work, since the team has research expertise in buildings, electrical networks and storage. The team also benefit from collaboration with a number of industrial partners, who bring commercial expertise in similar fields. This ensures that project team are aware of the needs of a range of parties including:Building designers (Hawkins Brown, Buro Happold, NG Bailey)Building constructors (Bower and Kirkjland)Building operators (Newcastle University Estates department)Building Energy Management System provider (Siemens)Distribution Network Operator (Northern Powergrid)Site owner and developer (Newcastle City Council)Site energy service provider (Engie)Domestic property developer (Keepmoat)These industry and public sector partners provide direction to the project team through an Advisory Board.The Urban Sciences Building will be studied in detail, in order to analyse the size of load and generation, the speed of response available, and the potential duration of response. Once this analysis has been completed and the nature of Demand Side Response understood, we will then quantify the benefits for the local and wider networks and their operators. Operating the building to offer a Demand Side Response service will require changes to the management of the building. We will define the criteria for a new Building Energy Management System structure. We also plan to investigate the market barriers and enablers which affect the delivery of Demand Side Response by a single building, or groups of assets.