Impact of P2P power trading on rooftop PV in Alberta

Leberer, Philipp Thomas

4. Term

Urban, Energy and Environmental Planning, Master

2018

2018-04-23

90

Den canadiske provins Alberta har nogle af verdens højeste drivhusgasudledninger pr. indbygger. En økonomi og energisektor, der er stærkt afhængig af fossile brændsler, gør det vanskeligt at reducere udledningerne. Provinsen har dog forpligtet sig til at sænke energisystemets CO2-intensitet. Et mål er at øge andelen af decentral vedvarende elproduktion, for eksempel tagmonterede solceller. De lave elpriser giver imidlertid forbrugere ringe motivation til at investere i små anlæg. For at afhjælpe dette foreslås en peer-to-peer (P2P) ordning, hvor naboer kan sælge overskydende strøm til nærliggende forbrugere. Den ekstra værdi ved lokale handler opstår ved at inddrage transmissionsomkostninger i afregningen og fordele dem mellem parterne, så den sparede brug af elnettet kommer begge til gode. Studien udvikler en model, der simulerer solcelleproduktion (PV) og afregning af P2P-handler, og anvender den på et casestudie i kvarteret Aspen Gardens i Edmonton. Resultaterne viser, at kvarterets import af strøm fra elnettet kan reduceres markant med P2P-handel. Økonomien er dog ikke stærk nok til, at investering i tag-solceller bliver attraktiv under de nuværende priser. Lave elpriser er den største barriere for mere småskala vedvarende el i provinsen. Hvis priserne stiger i de kommende år som følge af højere CO2-afgifter og lukning af kulkraftværker, kan økonomien forbedres.

The Canadian province of Alberta has some of the highest greenhouse gas emissions per person in the world. Because its economy and energy system rely heavily on fossil fuels, reducing emissions is difficult. The province has nevertheless committed to lowering the carbon intensity of its energy system. One goal is to add more distributed renewable generation, such as rooftop solar. However, low electricity prices give households and small businesses little incentive to invest in small systems. To address this, the thesis proposes a peer-to-peer (P2P) trading policy that lets neighbors sell surplus power to nearby consumers. The added value of these local trades comes from including transmission costs in the settlement and sharing them between participants, so that avoided grid use benefits both sides. The study develops a model to simulate photovoltaic (PV) output and settle P2P trades, and applies it to the Aspen Gardens neighborhood in Edmonton. Results show that neighborhood electricity imports from the grid can be reduced significantly when P2P trading is allowed. Even so, the financial returns are not high enough to make rooftop PV attractive under current prices. Low electricity prices remain the main barrier to small-scale renewables in the province. If prices rise in coming years due to higher carbon taxes and coal plant closures, the economics may improve.

[This abstract was generated with the help of AI]

p2p ; blockchain ; pv ; Canada ; renewable ; energy ; participation

Download
View record in AAU Student Projects