Heinrich-Mandel Prize 2009

The Board of Trustees of the VGB-FORSCHUNGSSTIFTUNG awarded the Heinrich-Mandel Prize 2009 to 

• Dr. Tobias Weißbach , Stuttgart University, for his work on control-dynamic power plant- and grid interaction in a deregulated power industry.

The 10,000 Euro prize was handed over by the VGB chairman on the occasion of the VGB Congress "Power Plants 2009" in Lyon/France on 23^rd September 2009.

 
Gerd Jäger is awarding the 2009 Heinrich-Mandel Prize to Tobias Weißbach

Increasing frequency deviations within the European high-voltage power system are essentially impacting power plant operation. This gave reason for starting the VGB research project "Control-dynamic Power Plant- and Grid Interaction in a Deregulated Power Industry - Power Plant Load Reduction Options" (306).

As project manager, Tobias Weißbach (31) verified by systematic grid simulations that frequency deviations and the underlying power imbalances are system inherent due to current market rules.

For the reduction of the resulting operational demands on power plants, Tobias Weißbach proposed to adapt the power change response from the current stepwise to a ramp-wise characteristic. This can be realized by transformation of the current 1-h intervals to four quarter-h intervals each with quarter amplitude ("four quarter steps"-method).

This execution of the net-schedule response with more steady gradients is currently discussed by the relevant technical committees on both national and international levels. As all market participants could benefit from this measure, the implementation of the concept is expected.