Quantification of Operational Flexibility from a Heating Network

The rapid development of intermittent renewable energy has caused emerging demand of flexibility for power systems. This paper quantifies operational flexibility from heating networks to enable the flexibility to participate in power system operation and markets. Concepts and physical meaning of the flexibility are discussed. Quasi-dynamic models are used to describe temperature propagation and transport delay in heating networks. Then two flexibility models are proposed to quantify the flexibility. Parameters of the flexibility models are coupled and determined by properties, operation strategies and baseline scenarios of the heating networks, as well as flexibility demand.