A simulation study for assessing the impact of energy storage systems for Fast Reserve with additional synthetic inertia control on the Continental Europe synchronous area

This article shows the results of a simulation study on the application of battery storage systems for providing fast frequency regulation (the so-named Fast Reserve) with additional synthetic inertia control. The aim of the study is to assess the impact of the extension of the regulation provided by the FRUs to all the Continental Europe synchronous grid, with the same power proportions of the first Italian FRU auction. The simulations are conducted in two different scenarios: a base one related to 2020 and a future one related to 2040 and based on ENTSO-E projections for load and generation. The results show that, for the reference incident of 3000 MW, the frequency quality parameters in 2040 are significantly worse than those in 2020 but, with the injection of the FRUs with additional synthetic inertia control, there is an improvement both in dynamic and steady-state conditions. The study shows how 2040 frequency parameters can become comparable with the current ones if minimum shares of fast reserve and synthetic inertia are provided to improve the stability of the grid. Finally, starting from the incident that occurred on the 8th of January 2021, it is shown by simulations how FRUs can support the grid also during a system split.