Development and installation of control system for a test rig interconnecting a micro Gas Turbine, a Heat Pump and a PCM Storage system

The need to enhance flexibility on current power plant is linked to the strong penetration of non-dispatchable sources in the current energy network, which causes a dramatic need for ancillary services to sustain the grid operability. A framework including a micro Gas Turbine (mGT), a Heat Pump (HP) and a PCM Storage is considered to enhance plant flexibility while facing grid and price fluctuations during day operations. The system so composed is devoted to electrical energy production only. A proper use of the HP allows, for instance, to heat up the compressor intake temperature whilst the system is operating at minimum load. The system can then produce a lower amount of energy in order to be more competitive in the infra-day energy market. At the same time, the cold storage is charged and the stored energy can be later used to power up the system during the peak hours by cooling the compressor intake. This work presents then the installation of the control system devoted to the management and the control of such complex system. The test-bed is defined to test different operating conditions and to validate the operating framework of the whole compound.