Flexibility
As electrical systems must constantly maintain a strict balance between electricity production and consumption, the integration of renewable and intermittent energy sources (such as wind and solar power) into power generation plants has created a growing demand for electrical system flexibility. Electrical flexibility is the ability to adjust the amount of electricity fed into or drawn from the grid to ensure this balance is maintained at all times.
This can be achieved by adjusting electricity production, consumption or storage using hydraulic resources or batteries.
At I-TESÉ, we address the issue of flexibility as a multidimensional question requiring technical, economic and regulatory analyses that can be integrated into a comprehensive approach to the electrical system. To this end, we use various methodologies (e.g. simulation, modelling and econometrics) and tools (e.g. PERSEE/Cairn, STATA, ESMOD/ANTARES and TIMES) to address this issue from different angles.
Flexibility of nuclear power generation:
- Modelling the flexibility of nuclear power in a dispatch model to better represent possible operations and their implications for managing unit outages, load factors and the amplitude and frequency of modulations.
Flexibility of systems combining energy production and storage
Modelling the operation of a system combining nuclear production and heat storage within an electrical system.
Modelling the flexibility of hydrogen production.
Analysis of the benefits of integrating an optimised battery into photovoltaic revenues, based on different pricing regimes (exogenous) and regulations.
Demand flexibility
Taking demand flexibility (load shifting) into account in modelling and forecasting exercises.
Reviewing tariff and non-tariff mechanisms likely to encourage demand flexibility, and analysing their impact.
Producing and analysing quantitative data using behavioural economics methods to better understand changes in passenger demand in the transport market.
Flexibility, regulation and electricity markets
Econometric analysis of the impact of renewable energy development on electricity market prices
What regulations are needed to ensure remuneration for increasingly flexible controllable means of production?
How should storage facilities be remunerated?