Piloting Demand Response in Retailing: Lessons Learned in Real-Life Context

Abstract

This article presents a case study on a demand response (DR) pilot project dealing with the application of DR in a grocery store with the utilization of refrigeration equipment as energy storage and photovoltaics (PV) as an energy source. DR has recently gained increased interest due to the growing penetration of intermittent renewable energy requiring flexibility in power consumption. The smart power grid enables the introduction of novel solutions to increase flexibility and the entrance of new actors into the markets. Developing new solutions for the mainstream markets requires experimentation in real-life settings serving the development of technological capabilities, necessary policies and regulation, and user and market needs, as well as adaptation of and to infrastructure and maintenance systems. Our case study on a DR pilot in a grocery store in Northern Finland focuses on how the project contributes to knowledge on the potential for DR and scaling up. It was found that energy efficiency, DR, and self-generated PV power can be aligned and even enhance the potential for DR. While mature technologies exist, applications and installations have not yet been standardized to enable rapid scaling up, and current DR market rules and practices fail to accommodate for small electricity consumers.

Demand Side Management in Industrial, Commercial, and Residential Sectors: A Review of Constraints and Considerations

“…Supermarkets are also good candidates for commercial DR. Supermarkets have many electricity loads, such as lighting, cooking, and space heating/cooling, but their main contribution to DR programs is from the thermal storage in their large refrigerators [114]. In a pilot study in a Finnish supermarket [115], refrigerators are used in a DR program to reduce the supermarket's greenhouse gas emissions. Leveraging the refrigerators' thermal storage and aligning electricity with generation from renewables reduced greenhouse gas emissions and increased energy efficiency.…”

“…Additionally, as with industrial DR, commercial DR tends to be limited to large consumers who can make bespoke agreements with electricity utility companies [115]. Thus, the DR potential of smaller consumers is often overlooked.…”

Novel Conceptual Architecture for the Next-Generation Electricity Markets to Enhance a Large Penetration of Renewable Energy

“…Work was done in analyzing the cost of automated DR systems [31], the suitability of different customers [32], the evaluation of the action performance [33,34], or its optimization in smart grid programs [35]. Moreover, its role among active consumers at the distribution level is gaining importance [36]. Storage is seen as the key technology to enable RES integration in the future power systems [4,37].…”

Novel Conceptual Architecture for the Next-Generation Electricity Markets to Enhance a Large Penetration of Renewable Energy

“…Work was done in analyzing the cost of automated DR systems [31], the suitability of different customers [32], the evaluation of the action performance [33,34], or its optimization in smart grid programs [35]. Moreover, its role among active consumers at the distribution level is gaining importance [36]. Storage is seen as the key technology to enable RES integration in the future power systems [4,37].…”