The Feasibility and Profitability of Ancillary Services Provision from Multi-MicroGrids

Because of the ever-increasing energy demand and petrol shortage one resorts to renewable energy supplies. Together with the advantages of having the generation sources physically close to the energy demand Microgrid has become a topical research area in recent years. A microgrid is capable of operating in parallel to the main power network or in intentional islanded mode. Such microgrids usually consist of several small coordinated generation units located closely together in the distribution network. The units can be solar, wind, CHP (Combined Heat and Power), fuel cells, etc. and are small in capacity. In a big physical region there can exist multiple micro- grids. Apart from participating in energy markets, an alternative of making profit is to take part in the Ancillary Services (AS) market. This study investigates the technical feasibility and difficulties of providing such services as well as the potential profitability of participating in the AS markets based on a setup of multiple microgrids.