Today, with the vigorous development of new energy industries such as wind, solar, storage and charging, a concept called "virtual power plant" is quietly emerging, which is known as the "cloud dispatcher" of the energy world, or will reshape the operation mode of the power system in the future. The concept of virtual power plants first originated in Europe in the 90s of the 20th century, when Germany, Denmark and other countries began to explore how to integrate distributed energy resources through information technology to cope with the volatility of renewable energy and the challenges of grid stability. With the advancement of technology and policy support, virtual power plants have gradually matured in Europe and the United States and become an important part of the power system. About ten years ago, with the rapid development of China's new energy industry and the deepening of the reform of the power system, virtual power plants in China have gradually been valued by the industry, and in the past five years, it has ushered in a period of rapid development and has become a key part of the construction of a new power system. So, what exactly is a virtual power plant? How will it affect our lives? Today, China Exportsemi will try to use simple expressions to help you recognize it and understand it.
Virtual Power Plant: The "magician" of energy from zero to whole
Imagine that the solar panels on the roof of your house, the electric car batteries in the streetside charging piles, and the idle backup generators in the factory can play a greater role if these scattered power resources can be centralized and dispatched. The virtual power plant is such a "magician", which uses advanced Internet of Things, cloud computing and artificial intelligence technology to "gather sand into a tower" of these scattered and fragmented power resources to form a controllable and dispatchable "virtual". "Power plant.
The core features of a virtual power plant
1. Distributed resource integration: Integrate scattered power generation, energy storage and load resources into a whole.
2. Intelligent scheduling: Optimize resource operation through algorithms to achieve efficient scheduling.
3. Market-oriented operation: Participate in electricity market transactions and provide services such as peak regulation and frequency regulation.
How does a virtual power plant work?
The operation mode of a virtual power plant can be simply summarized as "sensing, aggregating, optimizing, scheduling".
1. Sensing: Data collection and monitoring
The virtual power plant monitors and collects information such as the operating status, power generation, and electricity demand of distributed power resources in real time through smart meters, sensors, and other devices. For example:
- Electricity generated by residential rooftop photovoltaics.
- The remaining charge of the EV battery.
- The power demand of the factory can adjust the load.
2. Aggregation: Resource integration
Integrate scattered power resources to form a large-scale "virtual" power plant, and monitor and manage them in a unified manner. For example:
- Aggregate PV devices from multiple homes to form a community-level virtual power plant.
- Aggregate the energy storage resources of multiple charging piles to form a city-level virtual power plant.
3. Optimization: Intelligent algorithms
Artificial intelligence algorithms are used to optimize the operation of power resources, such as predicting power generation, optimizing charging and discharging strategies, etc., to improve energy efficiency. For example:
- Forecast PV power generation based on weather forecasts.
- Optimize the charging and discharging times of energy storage devices based on fluctuations in electricity prices.
4. Dispatching: Respond to grid demand
According to the needs of the power grid, the virtual power plant can be flexibly dispatched, such as increasing power generation during peak power consumption periods and energy storage during low power consumption periods, so as to maintain the stable operation of the power grid. For example:
- Dispatch EV batteries to the grid during peak demand periods.
-Dispatch energy storage equipment to charge during the trough period of electricity consumption.
Figure: Diagram of the architecture of a virtual power plant
Advantages of a virtual power plant
Compared with traditional power plants, virtual power plants have the following advantages:
1. Improve energy efficiency
By consolidating and optimizing distributed power resources, virtual power plants can maximize energy efficiency and reduce energy waste. For example:
- Store excess PV for overnight use.
- Put the plant's backup generators into service during peak demand periods.
2. Reduce the cost of electricity
Virtual power plants can participate in electricity market transactions and reduce electricity costs through flexible dispatch strategies. For example:
- Charge when electricity prices are low and discharge when electricity prices are at peaks.
- Reduce electricity demand during peak hours through demand response.
3. Enhance grid stability
Virtual power plants can quickly respond to the needs of the power grid, provide auxiliary services such as peak shaving and frequency regulation, and enhance the stability and reliability of the power grid. For example:
- Quickly adjust the power generated or consumed when the grid frequency fluctuates.
- Backup power support in the event of a grid failure.
4. Promote the development of renewable energy
Virtual power plants can effectively integrate intermittent renewable energy sources such as wind power and photovoltaic power, and promote the consumption and development of renewable energy. For example:
- Combine distributed photovoltaic power generation with energy storage equipment to smooth the power generation curve.
- Combine wind power with adjustable loads to reduce curtailment.
Application scenarios for virtual power plants
Virtual power plants can be used in a wide range of scenarios, such as:
1. Residential areas
Integrate resources such as solar panels on residential rooftops and household energy storage equipment to form a small virtual power plant to achieve self-consumption and surplus electricity to the grid. For example:
- The Sonnen Community Virtual Power Plant Project in Germany integrates the photovoltaic and energy storage equipment of thousands of households to form a large-scale virtual power plant.
2. Industrial parks
Integrate resources such as distributed energy resources, energy storage systems, and adjustable loads in the park to form a virtual power plant, participate in electricity market transactions, and reduce electricity costs. For example:
- A virtual power plant project in an industrial park in Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, China, which integrates photovoltaics, energy storage and adjustable loads in the park, reducing electricity costs by more than 1 million yuan per year.
3. Urban power grids
Integrate resources such as charging piles, commercial buildings, and public facilities in the city to form a large-scale virtual power plant to provide auxiliary services such as peak regulation and frequency regulation for the urban power grid. For example:
- The California Virtual Power Plant project, which integrates thousands of charging piles and energy storage equipment from commercial buildings, providing more than 100MW of peak shaving capacity to the grid.
Figure: Virtual power plant application scenario diagram
The future of virtual power plants
With the rapid development of the new energy industry and the deepening of the reform of the power system, virtual power plants will usher in a broad space for development. In the future, virtual power plants will become an indispensable part of the power system and make important contributions to the construction of a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient energy system.
1. Market size
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the global virtual power plant market will reach more than $100 billion by 2030. As the world's largest new energy market, China has great potential for the development of virtual power plants.
2. Technology trends
- Artificial Intelligence and Big Data: Further improve the prediction and optimization capabilities of virtual power plants.
- Blockchain technology: Realize the transparent management and transaction of resources within the virtual power plant.
- 5G communication technology: Improving the real-time responsiveness of virtual power plants.
3. Policy support
Governments around the world have introduced policies to support the development of virtual power plants. For example:
- China's 14th Five-Year Plan for a Modern Energy System clearly states that it is necessary to promote the demonstration and application of new power system technologies such as virtual power plants.
- The EU's Clean Energy Package lists virtual power plants as a priority area of support.
Figure: Virtual Power Plant Market Chart: Market Area Size, Key Players
Examples and data of some virtual power plants
1. German Next Power Plants Virtual Power Plant
- Scale: Integrates more than 10,000 distributed energy resources with a total capacity of more than 8,000MW.
- Function: Provision of frequency modulation, spare capacity, and power trading services.
- Results: Reduced CO2 emissions by more than 1 million tonnes per year.
2. China's Jibei Virtual Power Plant
- Scale: Integrates more than 1,000 distributed energy resources with a total capacity of more than 500MW.
- Function: Provides peak shaving, frequency modulation, and demand response services.
- Results: Reduced the cost of peak regulation of the power grid by more than 100 million yuan per year.
3. Tesla Virtual Power Plant, USA
- Scale: Integrates more than 50,000 home energy storage devices with a total capacity of more than 250MW.
- Function: Peak shaving and spare capacity services are available.
- Results: Stable backup power to the grid during the California wildfires.
Challenges and solutions for virtual power plants
1. Technical challenges
- Resource diversity: Different types of resources require different scheduling strategies.
- Data security: Security needs to be ensured in the collection and transmission of large amounts of data.
2. Market challenges
- Inadequate policies: Market access and trading mechanisms for virtual power plants need to be further improved.
- Distribution of benefits: How to fairly distribute the benefits of virtual power plants is a difficult problem.
3. Solution
- Standardization: Uniform technical standards and market rules are developed.
- Win-win cooperation: Establish a multi-party cooperation mechanism to achieve benefit sharing.
Conclusion
The emergence of virtual power plants marks the transformation of the energy industry from the traditional centralized and one-way model to the distributed and interactive model. It will profoundly change the way we produce and consume energy, and provide strong support for building a better future life. With the advancement of technology and the improvement of policies, virtual power plants will surely become the backbone of the energy world, driving the global energy transition to new heights.
Through the above content, China Exportsemi hopes that you can have a comprehensive understanding and insight into virtual power plants!
