Small photovoltaic systems can provide a lot of control power on site

In a project, researchers at Ulm University of Applied Sciences have tested small solar systems that can provide control reserves. The technical effort for this is not that high.

So far, larger generating units in particular have already been involved in the provision of control reserves. That also makes sense, because it gives the network operators much more leverage to compensate for imbalances. In addition, there has been a lack of cost-effective technical solutions for smaller systems

However, it is precisely the small solar systems on private house roofs that have huge potential to provide system services in the form of negative balancing energy and, to a certain extent, even positive balancing energy, especially in the distribution grid.

As a technical solution for cost-effective control of small photovoltaic systems, the Ulm researchers have investigated how protocols from the Internet of Things (IoT) sector can be used via the smart meter infrastructure. Together with the network operation department of Stadtwerke Ulm/Neu-Ulm Transnet BW, they were able to demonstrate in laboratory and field tests that the smart meter infrastructure is suitable for providing secondary control power in this way.

For this purpose, the scientists have technically upgraded several solar systems with outputs between 10 and 55 kilowatts in the field test with a smart meter gateway and a CLS gateway, among other things. CLS stands for Controllable Local System and allows remote access to the system.