Efficient Control Mechanism Using Data Centers and Electric Vehicles for Grid Frequency Support

Abstract

Frequency regulation is one of the most crucial ancillary services that strives to maintain the demand and supply balance in Smart Grid (SG) setup. The deviations in grid s frequency can be managed efficiently by adjusting the generation of the supply side against the en- ergy consumption of the demand side. Traditionally, frequency support is provided using conventional generators but their usage leads to the emission of harmful gases, degraded heat rate, and associated wear and tear. Nevertheless, several efforts have been made to manage frequency deviations using flywheels, battery energy storage systems, commercial buildings, and renewable energy resources. However, these agents too have their associated shortcomings such as-heavy installation and maintenance cost; and intermittency issues. Hence, modern frequency regulation agents are required which can strive the delicate balance between demand and supply. Towards this end, the modern Data centers (DCs) and Electric Vehicles (EVs) have emerged as promising solutions for instantaneous frequency support. This can be attributed to their rapid proliferation in the global market accompanied with the large charging and discharging capacities of EVs batteries. According to a recent survey, the energy consumption of future transportation sector is expected to increase manifold with the penetration of 400 billion EVs by 2020. On the similar lines, the overall energy consumption of cloud DCs is expected to increase up to 1963.74 TWh by 2020. Hence, it is essential to manage their energy interactions with the grid in accordance with the grid s frequency; else risk a blackout. Thus, in this thesis, innovative power management schemes have been proposed to leverage the distributed participation of EVs and DCs for grid frequency sup- port. Consequently, four different schemes have been designed based on hierarchical control structure in lieu of grid frequency stabilization.