Title : District heating operators as demand aggregators in integrated energy systems
Abstract:
The increasing penetration of renewable energy sources is accelerating the transition towards highly integrated energy systems, where electricity, natural gas, district heating, water, and other energy vectors are increasingly interconnected. In this context, the operation of future energy systems will require a much more active participation of demand-side resources, which are expected to play a central role as providers of flexibility services to support system reliability, efficiency, and decarbonization. Harnessing demand-side flexibility is particularly relevant for facilitating the integration of variable renewable energy resources and addressing the operational challenges associated with their intermittency.
This paper investigates the role of district heating operators as natural demand aggregators within integrated energy systems. Due to their centralized management of thermal energy supply to a large number of end-users, district heating operators are uniquely positioned to aggregate, coordinate, and exploit distributed thermal flexibility. District heating networks supplied by centralized generation facilities using natural gas, biofuels, or other energy carriers can leverage the flexibility available at the consumer level to optimize fuel consumption while maintaining service quality and end-user comfort.
Furthermore, recent developments in information and communication technologies enable district heating operators to access real-time metering, monitoring, and remote management capabilities for connected consumers, thereby facilitating the implementation of advanced demand response strategies. The aggregated flexibility of district heating customers can provide valuable services not only to the gas system, by mitigating operational constraints and improving balancing capabilities, but also to interconnected infrastructures, particularly electricity systems. Therefore, district heating operators may become key flexibility providers and strategic actors in the operation and decarbonization of future integrated energy systems.
