Optimising energy flows and synergies between energy networks

The increased use of fluctuating renewable energy sources (RES) that is expected in the near future will lead to challenges concerning their full integration in the distribution grid, the reduction of RES curtailments and the mitigation of electric unbalances on the grid. Besides electric batteries (EB), other technologies, such as Power-to-Gas (P2G), Power-to-Heat (P2H) and Combined Heat and Power (CHP), make it possible to exploit synergies between various energy networks, thus alleviating problems of RES integration. In fact, when these technologies work simultaneously in a single energy system, their installed power mix, along with their optimised management and control, play a fundamental role in the energy optimisation of the whole system. The aim of this paper is to offer a methodological approach for the analysis of the synergies between the different energy networks in order to cope with the increasing RES penetration. The proposed model has been used to perform a sensitivity analysis on the installed capacity of the various technologies; moreover, different simplified system management logics have been analysed by changing the priority order of the renewable energy surplus usage. The obtained results have been compared from an energetic, economic and environmental point of view.