Variable scheduling of wind-based micro-grid for electric arc furnace steel production

The heavy electrical power draw of electric arc furnaces (EAF) proposes them as prime candidates for economically viable decentralized grid operation, provided they are able to operate efficiently and flexibly in response and in anticipation of fluctuations in price and local renewable energy availability. For this purpose, we consider a hypothetical industrial micro-grid consisting of a wind park, a pumped storage reservoir and a micro-EAF with ability to draw power from both the electrical grid and the hydro storage facility. We then investigate the energy savings potential for steel production, given minor load shift flexibility in production scheduling, and further flexibility in terms of the sizing of the reservoir and the generation capacity of the coupled wind park. The numerical methodology involved dynamic simulation of the furnace components, turbines (from realistic wind data), pump, generator and reservoir, and comparison of flexible vs. regular interval spaced production scheduling.