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ELSA Public Project Results

Here you can download the public deliverables resulting from the ELSA project.

Download here the summary of the ELSA project.

Other public results

Standardised Flexibility Analysis Methodology

Flexibility is a key enabler for the smart grid. In order to balance increased renewable generation, services such as Demand Response (DR) are required to increase grid flexibility, stability and hosting capacity. Flexibility analysis is required to identify and quantify the available electrical load, storage or renewable generation a site or building can shed or increase in response to a signal from the grid or an aggregator. As part of the ELSA project, United Technologies Research Centre Ireland, Ltd. have defined flexibility, formulated a methodology for assessing it and demonstrated the scalability of the methodology through implementation at multiple pilot sites. The standardized methodology, based on flexibility formulations and optimization input requirements, is an-off line assessment, designed to provide an indication of the range available, prior to any investment on-site. It consists of a four-step process: 1) system and load identification adapting the ISO 50002:2014 energy audit standard; 2) flexibility characterization that maps the loads, storage and on-site generation; 3) benchmarking against documented demonstration studies and 4) a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) label that captures key information for decision makers. Results for one pilot site, the Skills Academy for Sustainable Manufacturing and Innovation (SASMI) building in the UK, show flexibility between 8% and 45%, and results for the five other ELSA pilot sites in Germany, France, Italy and Spain demonstrate flexibilities of more than 100% of peak load, in some cases.