Evaluating Demand Response Particibility Potential of Process Systems using Levelized Cost Analysis

This work examines the impact of process design decisions on the ability of a process to participate in Demand Response (DR) activities. Focusing on load shifting capabilities, the DR particibility potential of a given process design is evaluated using the notion of levelized cost of the load-shifting capacity, which is taken as a measure of an overall cost of the design decisions over the lifetime of the process. Initially, the concept of levelized cost of energy (LCOE), or levelized cost of electricity, is introduced and adapted to capture the levelized cost of load-shifting (LCOL). Then, a bottom-up approach to calculate the load-shifting capacity for a given process design, and the associated levelized cost, is developed based on an MILP scheduling model. The implementation of the proposed approach is demonstrated using a conceptual case study involving a reactor-storage process with a discretized scheduling model. The case study investigates the in load-shifting capacities when considering DR participation in a day-ahead electricity market versus participation in a five-minute market.