Residential Users as Flexibility Providers: a Techno-Economic Analysis

The increasing spreading of generation affected by uncertainty and the gradual phase-out of fossil-based power plants are requesting many countries to open the Ancillary Service Markets (ASMs) to new actors, such as the aggregators. In this framework, this paper presents a study aimed to evaluate the regulating capabilities, from both a technical and an economic point of view, of an aggregate composed of residential users equipped with small-scale renewable power plants and flexible loads (V2Ge-vehicles, electrical water boilers). To this purpose, two numerical models are proposed: the former quantifies the flexibility that can be offered in the ASM, while the latter simulates the operation of the aggregate, assessing the flexibility available and evaluating the possible unwanted effects caused to the users in case of ancillary service activation. Extensive analyses are performed, considering the Italian scenario as a reference.