Demo 2 – System Level Heat to Power Solution (Sweden)

Karlshamn Energi (KEAB) is a regional energy company owned by the municipality of Karlshamn (Sweden). KEAB owns and operates the regional power grid as well as the local district heating system in the city of Karlshamn. In the power grid they have about 8,250 end-point customers with an annual amount of sold power of about 112 GWh (2013), while the district heating system accounts for about 170 GWh (2013) per year of sold energy to a total of about 1500 customer. Some key figures for their power grid include the following:

  • Two main transformer stations (50 kV)
  • 92 grid stations (10kV).
  • 13 customer grid stations (10kV).
  • 8,250 endpoint customers.
  • 78 km high voltage cable.
  • 242 km low voltage cable.

KEAB owns a wind farm that produces about 10-15 GWh of renewable power annually. They are also involved in solar power installations, and two of these will be involved in the FHP demonstration. The largest of these photovoltaic farms is located at the roof of a supermarket. This farm as an installed power of 180 kW and supplies the supermarket itself, the grid and a nearby charging facility for electrical cars. In FHP, the supermarket will act as one of several distributed flexibility resources in which we can optimise the behaviour of cooling devices (e.g. fridges and freezers) as well as heating devices (e.g. ventilation) in relation to both availability of local solar power as well as operational grid characteristics.

In addition to the wind farms and solar power installations, there is also hydro power station as part of the demonstration. This hydro power station has an installed power of about 400 kW and is located in the outer parts of the grid.

By using the FHP solution, KEAB will be able to perform voltage control in the local grid area. A selection of flexibility resources such as heat pumps or ventilation system in larger buildings will be equipped by the FHP interface solutions during the project, and will thereby be able to act in real-time in relation to the overall voltage control scheme of FHP. To be able to monitor this activity, a range of five to seven grid stations will be fitted with sensory and communication equipment during the project.

Solar Panel Coop Grocerystore
VK1 och VK2 Sölve from northeast

Expected Results & Benefits

KEAB wants to enforce a scenario where the renewable energy sources are prioritized higher whenever possible. The voltage is normally under control, although they do experience variations due to peak demand. This region is largely rural with smaller urban areas (<20kpersons/city) and the local power generation is mainly renewable such as wind, solar and hydro based. The two primary scenarios to study in the Swedish demo are:

  • Avoiding the need for curtailment while the renewable energy sources (wind, solar and hydro) are operating
  • Avoiding congestion in MV/LV transformers due to peak demand causing voltage drops down-stream in the grid.

KEAB has a working relationship with most of the major energy consumers within their region. This user-base will provide the required basis for operational prototype testing of dynamic coalition formation among distributed energy resources for the purpose of creating thermal flexibility and demand response capabilities. Since KEAB is both a DSO and a re-seller of energy they will be able to contribute throughout FHP to ensure a consistent market connection of the demonstration activities.

Partners Involved