Concluding report Smart Power Flow (Bühler et al. 2017)
Jochen Bühler, Matthias Resch, Birgit Schachler, Ghada Merei, Brisa Ortiz, Peter Schwaegerl
The increasing integration of renewable energy at the distribution grid level has led to a strong increase in grid reinforcement measures in recent years. Since the costs of this are being passed on to the public through network charges, it is necessary to investigate and evaluate alternatives.
As part of the SmartPowerFlow project, a large-scale vanadium redox flow battery was integrated into the power grid of a German grid operator for the first time. The battery system is a prototype whose inverter and battery control have been developed specifically for the project. The main objective of the project was to quantify the extent to which network expansion measures can be avoided by the battery and to what extent the balancing act between economic viability and network support is possible. Finally, the battery use should be compared technically and economically with other grid stabilization options.