AUTHOR=Zhidong Wang , Xiaonan Han , Ying Wang 

TITLE=The design of a model predictive control strategy and performance analysis for pumped storage units and super capacitors in power systems

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Energy Research

VOLUME=Volume 12 - 2024

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/energy-research/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2024.1425169

DOI=10.3389/fenrg.2024.1425169

ISSN=2296-598X

ABSTRACT=The super capacitors were regarded one of the most effective frequency regulation technology in power systems. The major issue of applying super capacitors for frequency regulation is the limited energy capacity and the large construction costs. The pumped storage units have been developed and applied in power systems for decades while it was rarely operated to regulate the system frequency due to the operation limitations. The pumped storage units could be operated as a hydro generator under the generation mode and provide effective frequency regulation service with the conventional automatic generation control (AGC) system while its output power was constant under the pumping mode. In this paper, the pumped storage unit was controlled to participate in frequency regulation under the generation mode with super capacitors. Considering the AGC system could not consider the state of charging (SOC) of super capacitors for frequency regulation, an optimization model was proposed to determine the operation points for super capacitors and pumped storage units under a model predictive control (MPC) strategy to regulate the system frequency for power systems. Based on the various operation scenarios, the effectiveness and costs of pumped storage units and super capacitors to provide frequency regulation services were discussed. It was indicated that the pumped storage units and super capacitors were effective technologies for power systems.