Assessing the Applicability of Vertical Transportation in Power System Inertial Support

Displacement of conventional generation with inverter-fed renewable generation hampers power system stability due to a decrease in rotating masses and spinning reserves. This reduction in inertial response capability requires more advanced power system design and innovations in frequency control technology and related power system balancing markets. This paper investigates the potential of applying vertical transportation devices to provide the system with virtual inertia to maintain the frequency quality. The study focuses on the Nordic power system and considers the demand response from both elevators and escalators. The results indicate that vertical transportation is able to contribute to the frequency support with little impact on the aggregate travel time of passengers. However, the capability is limited during the most likely periods of low system inertia, which, in the Nordic power system, occur during summer nights.