Project Description

The electricity grid has been going through drastic changes and will continue to do so in the upcoming years. One important cause of the changes originates from the strong increase of renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar, which are fluctuating and hard to predict. Since in a power grid demand and supply must be balanced at all times, the uncertainty in renewable generation increases the need for so-called ancillary services. Control reserves are the most important form of ancillary services and provide a fast reacting compensation for a power shortage or surplus in the network. Control reserves are traded in the control reserve market and are today mainly covered by conventional generators. In Switzerland, control reserves are prominently provided by hydro power plants, which pump water to high altitudes in case of power surplus and release water through turbines in case of power shortage. Although in Switzerland the electricity production of wind and solar is currently limited, the need for ancillary services is significant also here, because of the nuclear phase-out as well as business opportunities with neighboring countries with substantial renewable generation such as Germany.  

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