A robust energy and reserve dispatch model for prosumer microgrids incorporating demand response aggregators

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The uncertainty introduced by intermittent renewable energy generation and prosumer energy imports makes operational planning of renewable energy-assisted prosumer microgrids challenging. This is due to the difficulty in obtaining accurate forecasts of the energy expected from these renewable energy sources and prosumers. Operators of such microgrids therefore require additional grid-balancing tools to maintain power supply and demand balance during grid operation. In this paper, the impact of demand response aggregators (DRAs) in a prosumer microgrid is investigated. This is achieved by developing and solving a deterministic mathematical formulation for the operational planning of the grid. Also, taking a cue from CAISO's proposed tariff revision which allows the state-of-charge of non-generator resources (like storage units) to be submitted as a bid parameter in the day-ahead market and permits scheduling coordinators of these resources to self-manage their energy limits and state-of-charge, the proposed formulation permits prosumers to submit the battery energy content as a bid parameter and self-manage their battery energy limits. Furthermore, a robust counterpart of the model is developed. Both formulations are constrained mixed integer optimization problems which are solved using the CPLEX solver in the Advanced Interactive Multidimensional Modelling System environment. The results obtained from tests carried out on a hypothetical prosumer microgrid show that the operating cost of the microgrid reduces in the presence of DRAs. In addition, the storage facility owner may benefit from self-managing its energy limits, but this may cut the amount of grid-balancing resource available to the microgrid operator, thereby increasing the operating cost of the microgrid.