Virtual power plant to deliver congestion management and frequency restoration reserve

Due to massive integration of renewable energy in the existing electrical grid, the transmission lines can be congested. In contrast to traditional congestion problems which were mostly consumption-driven, this is supply driven congestion. As in many electrical systems there is no congestion market, the suppliers are often forced to reduce or cease there production without compensation. More the less, if they don´t accept those voluntary shut downs in case of congestion, they don´t get a grid connection in the first place. To partially solve this, this paper investigates the coincidence between downward frequency restoration reserve and congestion. As frequency reserve is a paid service with a mature market, this can (partially) make up for the lack of compensation for congestion management. In contrast to the traditional approach of pro rata (to the bidding capacity) activation of frequency restoration reserve, the authors suggest to activate the reserve in potentially congested area´s.