Trends in the German PCR market: Perspectives for battery systems

The successful transition from a system based on conventional power plants to one based on distributed and renewable power generators requires an adopted system for the provision of ancillary services. Batteries are an option for such provision. Within this paper the cost structure differences between generators and batteries providing PCR are discussed. The latter is simulated in detail to quantify its costs. A battery system providing 1 MW of PCR is proposed. The system needs a nominal power of 1250 MW to maintain its state of charge. It was found that energy costs for corrective measures are much smaller than degradation costs for the battery system. The cost comparison between conventional power plants and the battery system shows significant differences in magnitude and dependencies to the wholesale markets. New competitive participants in the market can have important effects on today´s providers and future PCR prices.