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30.11.2022 14:49
Current News, Electricity Market

Apply to join the pilot project “Wind Power for the Reserve Markets” by 16 January 2023

Wind power needs to join the reserve market to ensure that the power balance can be managed effectively on market terms in the future. Fingrid is running a pilot project to promote the inclusion of wind power in the market for automatic reserve products. The pilot project will take place in 2023.

Fingrid uses various reserve products to maintain the balance between consumption and production in the power system at all times. Reserves are purchased in the reserve market. The rapid expansion of wind power in Finland is leading to occasional scarcity, especially of down-regulation reserves (reduction in production). Wind power also needs to join the reserve market to ensure that the power balance can be managed effectively on market terms in the future.

So far, wind power producers in Finland only participate in the balancing power market (the mFRR reserve). However, trials in other countries have shown that there are no technical obstacles to using wind power in automatic reserve products. There are four automatic reserve products: the Automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve (aFRR), the Frequency Containment Reserve for Disturbances (FCR-D), the Frequency Containment Reserve for Normal Operation (FCR-N), and the Fast Frequency Reserve (FFR).

Fingrid is running a pilot project to promote the inclusion of wind power in the market for automatic reserve products. The pilot project seeks to address some practical questions that wind power operators need to answer when joining the reserve market. These questions may be related to matters such as the technical capabilities of wind power, interpretations of the terms and conditions of reserves from the standpoint of wind power, prequalification tests for specific reserve products, or the transmission of control signals to wind farms.

Applications are welcome

Fingrid is looking for one to three wind power operators to join the pilot project and work with Fingrid to answer questions specific to wind power. The pilot project may address one or more of the following reserve products: the Automatic Frequency Restoration Reserve (aFRR), the Frequency Containment Reserve for Disturbances (FCR-D), the Frequency Containment Reserve for Normal Operation (FCR-N), and the Fast Frequency Reserve (FFR). The pilot project will be carried out in 2023, and the lessons learned will be used on a general level to develop Fingrid’s terms and conditions for reserves.

Participants will be selected for the pilot project according to the following criteria:

  • The timetable by which the operator is committed to starting and conducting the pilot project.
  • The size of the site involved in the pilot project. In this context, this means the amount of reserve capacity (MW) entering the market.
  • The number of different reserve products the operator proposes to include in the pilot project.
  • The feasibility of the pilot project. This will be assessed based on the implementation plan included in the operator’s application for the pilot project.
  • If several operators are selected to join the pilot project, the selection will focus on ensuring impartiality between the operators and the various reserve products, as well as the originality of the pilot project.

Wind farms involved in the pilot project must be connected to the grid already or due for completion in 2023. The pilot project is also open to equipment manufacturers looking to test the balancing features of their installations under factory conditions as a form of type approval.

Wind power operators wishing to join the pilot project should provide the following information:

  • Contact details
  • Implementation plan, showing
    • Which wind farm will be used for the pilot project
    • Which reserve products are included in the proposal
    • Description of the parties participating in the pilot project and how their commitment to it has been secured. The parties may include, for example, turbine suppliers, wind farm owners, balance responsible parties, wind farm operators, and service providers.
    • Practical questions that the operator already has in mind and the type of support required from Fingrid to answer the questions.
    • Planned timetable, including the various sub-tasks involved in the pilot project.

The deadline for applications is 16 January 2023. Fingrid will select parties to join the project in January. Please submit your application by email: reservit@fingrid.fi.

Further information about the pilot project: Niko Korhonen (practical arrangement of the pilot project), Jukka Kakkonen (reserve products and markets). Email addresses are in the form firstname.lastname@fingrid.fi.

Further information about reserves: https://www.fingrid.fi/en/electricity-market/reserves_and_balancing/