Spanish researchers have studied the impact of hydrogen production and storage technologies on risk management in energy communities with an internal price-tariff system. They found that optimal participation in futures and spot markets depends on community risk aversion and self-reliance.
Researchers at the Carlos III University of Madrid have modeled the operation of an energy community utilizing renewable energy sources and storage under various technical and economic conditions and analyzed the impact of new hydrogen production and storage technologies on community operations and risk management.
They investigate how community management can be directly handled by an arbitrageur who, using an adequate price-based demand response system (real-time pricing), acts as an intermediary with the central electricity market to coordinate different types of consumer protection while avoiding risks.
Their results showed that optimal participation in the futures and spot markets is highly dependent on community risk aversion and self-reliance. They also found that the external hydrogen market directly affects the intra-community price-tariff system and, depending on market conditions, can reduce the utility of individual producer users.
“We show how arbitrage can effectively coordinate multi-producer operations and manage uncertainty by participating in a two-phase wholesale market and setting an adequate demand response program,” the researchers wrote in the recently published “Risk Management of Energy Communities with Hydrogen Production and Storage Technologies.” Applied energy.
Arbitrage hedges its risk by allocating sufficient trading volume in the futures market and charging the producer with a real-time pricing mechanism in connection with spot trading.
“Regarding the risk trading share, it can be stated that the higher the self-sufficiency rate of the energy community, the lower the impact of possible unfavorable scenarios,” the researchers said.
They have also found how high risk aversion can reduce futures trading in periods of low renewable energy production and increase futures trading in periods of high renewable energy production. In addition, they found that a battery storage system could effectively help shift the load to pro-consumers, reducing their operating costs and benefiting the community as a whole. At the same time, an external hydrogen market could help consumers generate additional profits while managing cost volatility.
