A Potential Analysis on Regional Demand Response by Air-conditioning Systems Combined with Gas Engine Cogeneration

Recently, the introduction of renewable energy, especially Photovoltaic power generation (PV), has been increasing. On the other hand, it has been pointed out that there might be lack of adjustment capability in the grid system. As a countermeasure, Demand Response (DR) is expected to contribute to the adjustment of supply and demand. The objective of this study is to quantitatively evaluate the reduction of PV curtailment and energy efficiency when distributed energy resources respond to DR, which increases electricity demand when PV generates excess power. Specifically, when PV generates excess power, the cogeneration system is stopped and Air-Conditioning (A/C) heat sources is switched from fuel-based to power-based to increase power demand while maintaining the A/C function. Three types of commercial building were examined, which results were combined with Geographic Information System (GIS) database to estimate regional DR potential in Kyushu electric power tube area and Tohoku electric power tube area. The results imply that DR can utilize more than 40% of the estimated PV curtailment in both regions.