Abstract
Distributed energy resources (DER), such as, photovoltaic systems and batteries, are becoming common among households. Although the main objective is reducing electricity imports (bills), they could also provide system-level services via an aggregator. However, the more DER provide services, the more important is ensuring that the corresponding operation does not result in network issues. To help DER aggregators understand the implications of network constraints, an AC optimal power flow-based methodology is proposed to quantify the effects that three-phase low voltage (LV) and medium voltage (MV) network constraints can have on the volume of services that can be provided for a given horizon, and the potential benefits from using DER reactive power capabilities. Using a convex multi-period formulation that avoids binary variables for batteries and incorporates voltage-dependent load models, the methodology maximizes DER exports (services) for service-related periods and household self-consumption for other periods (reducing bills). Different service periods are assessed to explore the extent of services throughout the day. Results using a realistic UK MV-LV network with 2400+ households, show that aggregator services can be highly overestimated when neglecting MV-LV network constraints, are influenced by voltage-demand load characteristics, and that exploiting DER reactive power capabilities can significantly unlock further services.
Highlights
Distributed energy resources (DER), such as photovoltaic (PV) systems, are becoming common in many countries, in low voltage (LV) networks
This work bridges the above gaps by proposing a methodology that allows DER aggregators quantifying the effects that LV and medium voltage (MV) network constraints can have on the volume of services that can be provided for a given horizon, making it possible to determine the true maximum volume of services they can offer, avoiding overestimations
This section introduces the proposed AC Optimal Power Flow (OPF)-based methodology that allows aggregators to quantify the effects that LV and MV network constraints can have on the volume of services that can be provided as well as the extent that DER reactive power capabilities can increase the provision of those services
Summary
Distributed energy resources (DER), such as photovoltaic (PV) systems, are becoming common in many countries, in low voltage (LV) networks. As household exports are typically valued to a lower price than their imports, some are starting to adopt battery energy storage (BES) systems. This enables households to maximize their selfconsumption by storing the excess PV power and using it when needed. Given their dispatch capabilities, these households could participate in providing services to the system. As these individual DER have relatively small capacity, to effectively participate in the provision of services, they are likely to do so through aggregators [1,2]
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