A two-stage stochastic collaborative planning approach for data centers and distribution network incorporating demand response and multivariate uncertainties

Abstract

As a critical infrastructure to support the development of digital economy, the scale of data center (DC) power consumption has been growing continuously in recent years. The plug-in of a large number of DCs to the distribution network (DN) presents both opportunities and challenges for the secure, stable, and sustainable operation of the system. In order to address the planning issues arising from the integration of DCs into the DN, this paper proposes a two-stage (planning stage and operation stage) collaborative planning method for DCs and the DN while considering the source-demand uncertainty. Firstly, spatial-temporal demand response characteristic of DCs is explicitly elaborated, and based on the energy consumption model, a two-stage stochastic planning model considering conditional value at risk (CVaR) for DCs and the DN is constructed using probabilistic stochastic simulation, which obeys low-carbon and security, and satisfies the source-network-load constraints of the system. The siting and sizing for DCs and renewable generation, feeder expansion for the DN are determined to minimize the investment cost during the planning stage, while the power output for the devices considering uncertainties from load and renewable energy are optimized to minimize the operation cost during the operation stage. Secondly, the L-shaped decomposition algorithm is proposed to solve the two-stage stochastic optimization problem by reconstructing the problem into a master problem and subproblems, where the dual multiplies are calculated to generate feasibility cuts and optimality cuts to achieve iterative solving. Finally, numerical case studies on a 33-bus distribution system demonstrate that the participation of DCs in demand response can achieve a significant reduction in the investment and operation cost of the DN, and further promote the consumption of distributed renewable energy sources.