Abstract
The number of residential consumers with solar PV and batteries, aka prosumers, has been increasing in recent years. Incentives now exist for prosumers to operate their batteries in more profitable ways than self-consumption mode. However, this can increase prosumer exports or imports, resulting in power flows that can lead to voltage and thermal limit violations in distribution networks. This work proposes a framework for Distribution Network Operators (DNOs) to ensure the integrity of MV-LV networks by using dynamic operating limits for prosumers. Periodically, individual prosumers send their intended operation (net exports/imports) as determined by their local control to the DNO who then assesses network integrity using smart meter data and a power flow engine. If a potential violation is detected, their maximum operating limits are determined based on a three-phase optimal power flow that incorporates network constraints and fairness aspects. A real Australian MV feeder with realistically modelled LV networks and 4,500+ households is studied, where prosumers' local controls operate based on energy prices. Time-series results demonstrate that the proposed framework can help DNOs ensure network integrity and fairness across prosumers. Furthermore, it unlocks larger profitability for prosumers compared with the use the 5kW fixed export limit adopted in Australia.
Highlights
M ANY regions of the world are seeing a rapid increase in the installation of residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems
This work proposes a framework for distribution network operators (DNOs) to define dynamic operating limits that ensure distribution network integrity in the presence of customers with photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage (BES) systems that operate their assets using control schemes outside the self-consumption operation
These prosumers submit their intended operation periodically to the DNO who performs a power flow analysis to check for constraint violations
Summary
M ANY regions of the world are seeing a rapid increase in the installation of residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. With consideration of the aforementioned, and without the ability of directly controlling prosumer’s asset, a DNO will only be able to ensure network integrity by limiting the net exports or imports from prosumers when needed More aligned with this philosophy, the work in [15] proposes an operational framework between a DNO and an aggregator operating within a given distribution network. 2) A convex three-phase OPF-based approach that can be used in large MV-LV networks (with thousands of decision variables) to incorporate network constraints (voltage and thermal limits) and fairness to limit the exports (or imports) of prosumers with BES systems These limits are only used when the network integrity could be compromised by the prosumers’ intended operations (assessed by the DNO through running power flows)
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