Virtual Power Plants video: ERI@NTU
This video explainer was uploaded by the Energy Research Institute at NTU on 21st October 2020.
Globally, the energy sector is evolving, driven by technological advances and climate change. Distributed energy resources (DERs) such as solar and energy storage systems today complement traditional power plants which generate electricity centrally. Electricity produced from these energy resources at end users’ premises can be coordinated intelligently like a “single utility-scale power station”. Such a concept is known as a Virtual Power Plant (VPP).
The Energy Market Authority and Sembcorp Industries have jointly awarded a grant to Nanyang Technological University to develop Singapore’s first Virtual Power Plant. Using real-time information from a variety of DERs, the VPP will optimise the power output of these resources located across the island. Energy fluctuations due to solar intermittency at different locations could be balanced automatically via the VPP. The VPP is also equipped with demand forecasting and optimisation algorithms that take into account Singapore’s power grid and market conditions.
VPPs can bring about many advantages such as flexibility, scalability and improved power grid resilience. New DERs can be easily connected to the VPP while the distributed architecture of VPP reduces concentrated risks associated with single point of failures. This enables any fault on a distributed generation system to be quickly isolated, limiting loss of power to end users. A VPP operator could monitor and control the various DER locations, while ensuring a balance between supply and demand.
This VPP will contribute towards Singapore’s efforts to meet its climate change commitments. It allows for more clean and distributed energy resources such as solar to be integrated into Singapore’s energy mix while keeping the power system stable.
