Increasing low voltage grid hosting capacity for production by active power flexibility: cost-benefit analysis and sensitivity study

In the baseline scenario of its “Plan de développement de reseau” (network development plan), ENEDIS (France's main DSO) expects to host 70GW of renewable energy in 2032, compared with around 28GW today. Substantial investment will be needed to support this scenario, while maintaining a secure and efficient power grid. To limit some of these investments or spread them over time, flexibilities can be used in certain situations. In the first part of this paper, we present an approach aimed at identifying situations where power curtailment on a specific low voltage grid may present an economic interest for the community. It highlights the key parameters which influence the benefits of this flexibility and concludes that it should be assessed on a case-by-case basis. In the second part, we look at the potential gain in terms of additional hosting capacity that a connection with power curtailment can bring compared with a conventional connection. In this stage, no constraints are authorized on the grid, i.e. no reinforcement would be needed to connect the producer. The gain in hosting capacity is presented in the form of a map.