Virtual power plants - types and development opportunities

Institute of Heat Engineering, Warsaw University of Technology, Power Generation Strategic Analysis Department, PKN ORLEN, Poland

^* arkadiusz.przychodzien@orlen.pl

Abstract

Modern power engineering meets new challenges. With the development of new energy production and storage technologies, creates new demands for energy services. To support this development, it is necessary to implement new teleinformatic systems that will allow for resource management. Such systems are called Virtual Power Plants (VPP). There are many definitions of this type of solutions due to the very wide range of possible applications. VPPs can be developed by many types of entities, e.g. distribution system operators, electricity generators, energy clusters. The ability to build a system based on modules allows you to customize the system to user’s needs. An opportunity for the development of VPP will be a package “Clean energy for all Europeans” (so called “Winter package”) that introduces regulations that allow for the development of renewable energy sources, including prosumers, and enables an active participation in the energy market for energy consumers. In addition, more stringent requirements for balancing production and energy consumption are introduced, requiring greater balancing accuracy.