Demand response strategy for high altitude smart flexible mining zones: Integrating production, residential, and transportation

High altitude mining zones, remote from grid coverage, depend on a high proportion of renewable energy, necessitating enhanced flexibility in system control. Within demand side, particularly the mining load, is characterized by large capacity and controllable power. However, participation in demand response (DR) is limited by normal production needs and the lack of effective control strategies. To fully explore the potential of flexible demand side resources, this paper focuses on the load of a high altitude mining zone and proposes a DR strategy for the high altitude smart flexible mining zone (HASFMZ), integrating production, residential, and transportation. Firstly, the paper analyzes the ore production process and establishes a smart flexible mining zone control model based on power and mass constraints. Secondly, by coupling a mining zone model with a hydrogen refueling station model that integrates production, storage, and refueling and a residential model that integrates electricity, thermal, and oxygen supply, the HASFMZ is proposed. A load aggregator is introduced, and based on the relationship between the two, a master-slave game-theoretic framework is proposed to guide the DR for HASFMZ. Finally, a case study from a high altitude mining zone demonstrates the potential of HASFMZ for DR, renewable energy integration, and adaptation to various operational scenarios. Additionally, daily carbon reduction of 1548.72 kg from ore transportation, providing a reference model for industrial load participation in DR.