Project description
Hydropower Extending Power System Flexibility
The increasing integration of renewables in the electrical power system requires the provision of large amount of flexibility to guarantee a secure and optimal operation of the European grid. Hydropower plants already provide critical grid support and ancillary services, namely: fast regulation and frequency control, fast start and stop times and ramping rates, fast transition from pump mode to generating mode, and fault ride through capability. The EU-funded XFLEX project aims to enhance the hydropower potential and its capability to provide flexibility services to the grid. To achieve this objective, XFLEX will demonstrate an innovative methodology for system integration of hydroelectric technology solutions, and analyse their impact on the modern power market. These innovative solutions will also optimise maintenance intervals, decrease outage times and increase the availability of the entire European hydroelectric power plant fleet.
Objective
The ultimate objective of the XFLEX project is to increase hydropower potential in terms of plant efficiency, availability and provision of flexibility services to the Electric Power System (EPS).
The high Renewable Energy Sources (RES) scenario of the decarbonisation process relies on a drastic change of the European Union EPS with a massive integration of non-dispatchable RES and disconnection of the so-called conventional units, as greenhouse gases emitters. These changes influence drastically the provision of the power grid balancing, and challenge the EPS operations and safety. It is of upmost importance to provide reliable solutions to support the EPS with more flexibility services. Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) already significantly supports EPS flexibility in terms of regulation capability, fast frequency control, fast start/stop, fast generating to pumping modes transition, high ramping rate, inertia emulation, fault ride through capacity, etc. XFLEX aims to demonstrate an innovative methodology for system integration of hydroelectric technology solutions, variable speed being a key component and a reference, to provide further enhanced flexibility services assessed by a crosscutting analysis of their impact on both the technology and the market aspects. Innovative solutions also target an optimize maintenance plan to decrease the outage time and increase the availability of the plant. Demonstrations are scheduled in the cases of run-of-river, storage and pumped storage HPPs and they cover cases of refurbished, uprated and especially existing HPP to be applied and scaled to any unit size. XFLEX draws the roadmap for the exploitation of its solutions to all the European HPP fleet. A strategic dissemination plan is set to promote the deployment of the demonstrated solutions to stakeholders, to the scientific community and the public and to further support the communication in workshops, conferences, scientific journals, newspapers and various social media.
Fields of science
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectrical engineeringelectric energy
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectrical engineeringpower engineeringelectric power transmission
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energyhydroelectricity
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
1015 Lausanne
Switzerland
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Participants (19)
75015 PARIS 15
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1120 Wien
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6010 Kriens
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92100 Boulogne Billancourt
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89522 Heidenheim An Der Brenz
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4600 Olten
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2685 039 Sacavem E Prior Velho Lisboa
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1249 300 Lisbon
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75008 Paris
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1025 St Sulpice
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
4200 465 Porto
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69100 Villeurbanne
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08034 Barcelona
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70174 Stuttgart
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2800 Delemont
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31192 Mutilva Alta Navarra
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
E14 5AA LONDON
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75272 Paris
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Legal entity other than a subcontractor which is affiliated or legally linked to a participant. The entity carries out work under the conditions laid down in the Grant Agreement, supplies goods or provides services for the action, but did not sign the Grant Agreement. A third party abides by the rules applicable to its related participant under the Grant Agreement with regard to eligibility of costs and control of expenditure.
75272 Paris
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