Grantham Scholar Ioanna Kalospyrou’s project investigates local energy markets of heat and electricity as a means of delivering flexibility and access to storage to support the deployment of electrified heat.
The conventional electricity grid is structured as a centralised generation system. This structure dictates that certain large-scale generation units produce all energy then transmitted to consumers.
However, the ever-increasing need for maximisation of renewable energy utilisation deems the existence of market platforms that support the penetration of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in the network critical. Local Energy Markets (LEMs) are a representative market structure which maximises DER utilisation while providing flexibility to consumers.
More specifically, LEMs facilitate the local trading of energy within residential communities. Namely, energy generated from local, small-scale renewable sources of energy, such as energy from rooftop solar panels, is directly exchanged within the financial structure of the LEM before proceeding to interact with the centralised grid. This internal energy exchange can be beneficial for the LEM participants leading to better energy prices for them.
There are multiple ways a LEM can be structured based on participants’ interactions, the responsibilities of the market operator, the market clearing approach, the bidding strategies opted for, and the physical limitations imposed by the microgrid.
Ioanna’s PhD is an iCASE EPSRC doctoral studentship with EDF Energy in which she investigates and assesses the efficacy of different LEM structures as a means of power and heat exchange. Eventually, Ioanna is to develop an optimal LEM and accompanying business model which will deliver flexibility to the participants, benefit the central LEM operator, and provide access to energy storage units, such as EVs, to support the deployment of electrified heat.