Fast Power Support of Electrical Batteries in Future Low Inertia Power Systems

Sammanfattning: To create more sustainable power systems, as well as achieve environmental goals, further integration of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) is essential. However, this may result in a power system more vulnerable to disturbances, since RES do not contribute to the system’s inertia. A power system’s ability to counteract disturbances is highly dependant on inertia. This is because the power system uses the kinetic energy of rotating machines, i.e. inertia, to restore the power balance after a disturbance. This causes a deviation of the system’s frequency, which must be contained within certain limits or, in the worst case scenario, a blackout could follow. Frequency Containment Reserves (FCR) stabilizes the frequency first dozens of seconds after a disturbance, therefore, it is the inertia that plays the major role in controlling the initial frequency deviation. One possibility to counter disturbances in a power system with less inertia is to use electrical batteries as fast power support, by injecting power into the system when needed. This project aims to investigate the dynamics of the FCR as well as the possibility to use batteries as fast power support. Different parameters of the batteries are also analyzed. The project is conducted through a case study of a power system model in Simulink and Matlab. Additional aspects, such as sustainability, cost-effectiveness, and future research, are discussed.