In order to take into account the energy transformation, the increase in renewable energy and the stability of power supply for the public, Taipower must keep the power system in a dynamic balance between power consumption and power supply, and maintain a frequency of 60 Hertz (Hz) at any time. When there were sudden power changes in the past, frequency control was maintained by large generators. Now, Taipower has partnered with private companies to create the "Asia's first" power frequency regulating energy storage system. Taipower stated that it has abandoned the traditional thinking of building power plants and buying generators. Instead, it combined private energy storage systems to help carrying out automatic grid frequency control. This approach is like building a "virtual power plant" which can provide 15 MW (megawatts) of electricity in 1 second, offering rate of frequency control 3 to 5 times faster than that of large-scale generator and making the power supply more stable. This new approach also improves the operating efficiency of the existing generators, reducing the emission of air pollutants.

• Taipower has partnered with private companies to create the "Asia's first" power frequency regulating energy storage system which combined private energy storage systems to help carrying out automatic grid frequency control. This approach is like building a "virtual power plant" which can provide 15 MW (megawatts) of electricity in 1 second. Photo taken at Central Power Dispatching Center of Taipower.

This year, Taipower launched the open procurement of the "Energy Storage Automatic Frequency Control (AFC) Frequency Regulation Reserve Supporting Service" for the first time. By gathering diversified private energy storage resources and experiences, the efficiency of the grid system is promoted and the flexibility in power dispatching is improved. The procurement has attracted a total of 30 bidders and the bid was awarded in July. In the end, five companies won the bid with a total capacity of 15 MW. Among them, energy storage battery suppliers include Tesla, E-One Moli Energy, Samsung, and other big equipment manufacturers from Europe and America.

Taipower explained that the demand for electricity is changing rapidly. Power dispatching not only needs to ensure that the generation of electricity exceeds the consumption of electricity, but also needs to instantly adjust the power curtailment and ramp up according to the changes in different conditions, such as the peak electricity consumption during hot summer days, or the decrease of solar power when the sun goes down in order to maintain system frequency stability and avoid power outages due to system imbalance.

Taipower pointed out that frequency control of the existing power systems is maintained by the generators of Taipower’s power plant, and power dispatch is conducted solely by the central power dispatch center. However, once the private energy storage systems are included into the system for additional support, it is like adding a "virtual power plant". The grid-connected energy storage systems distributed in various places can intelligently support the grid and automatically monitor the changes in the 60 Hz frequency of the power system. With the support of the energy storage systems, 15 MW of electricity can be released within 1 second to perform charging and discharging operation, instantly stabilizing the frequency and allowing the storage of 20,000 kwh of electricity. In the future, Taipower will charge service fees based on the frequency and response of the energy storage system detected per second, as well as the automatically returned energy storage system status and other power supporting services.

• Taipower partnered with Delta Electronics to set up Taiwan’s largest and first grid-connected 2-MW energy storage system that can perform real-time power dispatch back in May. Photo showing the energy storage system from Kinmen Xiaxing Power Plant.

Taipower stated that internationally, the UK uses energy storage systems to assist in grid frequency control. During the blackout in August last year, it played a "major role" in preventing the occurrence of even larger and longer power outages. The energy storage system ancillary service provided by Taipower is the first to be offered in Asia. It is expected to be online at the end of this year at the earliest. After connected, the service can provide instant available power to the national power grid. It can also help stabilizing the voltage in the area of installation and help reducing the pressure of power dispatching for the existing generators. In addition, it allows power generation to be stabilized according to the existing schedule, and reduces changes in the amount of power generated by existing generators, thereby, improving the operating efficiency, and reducing the emission of air pollutants as well as the power generation costs.

Taipower emphasized that it has also promoted the "Ancillary Service Trading Pilot Platform", which is expected to be launched in Q1 of next year. In the future, Taipower will continue to partner with private companies to expand the ancillary services provided by energy storage systems, continuing to improve the stability of power supply.

Spokesperson：Professional Chief Administrator, Ting-Shu Zhang
Tel：(02)2366-6271/ 0936-625-552
Email： u742433@taipower.com.tw

Contact Person：Director of Department of System Operations, Jin-Zhong Wu
Tel：(02)2366-6600/0910-192-766
Email：u850899@taipower.com.tw