Potential Roles for Demand Response in High-Growth Electric Systems with Increasing Shares of Renewable Generation

Technical Report · Thu Dec 27 04:00:00 EST 2018

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/1489332· OSTI ID:1489332

Hale, Elaine T. ^[1]; Bird, Lori A. ^[1]; Padmanabhan, Rajaraman ^[1]; Volpi, Christina M. ^[1]

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1. National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Many countries around the world are experiencing rapid economic development while simultaneously deploying more wind and solar generators. This report explores potential roles for demand response - the modification of electricity load operations to provide grid services - to support these countries' development goals through enhancing grid reliability and assisting with renewable energy integration in the power sector. After reviewing current demand response programs types, which include wholesale and retail market offerings, as well as broader distributed energy resource (DER) aggregation programs, we reflect on the historical trajectory of demand response as a grid resource and on recent findings from renewable integration studies. The reviewed literature suggests that some types of demand response programs are likely to be more supportive of high-economic growth, high-renewable contexts than others. We conclude by outlining best practices for the design of new demand response programs that build on the historical lessons learned and are well suited to accommodate expected future changes in generation and load patterns.

• Research Organization: National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of International Affairs (IA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC36-08GO28308
• OSTI ID: 1489332
• Report Number(s): NREL/TP--6A20-70630
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
demand response
energy security
grid reliability
renewables integration