Distribution Market as a Ramping Aggregator for Grid Flexibility Support

Abstract

The growing proliferation of microgrids and distributed energy resources in distribution networks has resulted in the development of Distribution Market Operator (DMO). This new entity will facilitate the management of the distributed resources and their interactions with upstream network and the wholesale market. At the same time, DMOs can tap into the flexibility potential of these distributed resources to address many of the challenges that system operators are facing. This paper investigates this opportunity and develops a distribution market scheduling model based on upstream network ramping flexibility requirements. That is, the distribution network will play the role of a flexibility resource in the system, with a relatively large size and potential, to help bulk system operators to address emerging ramping concerns. Numerical simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model on when tested on a distribution system with several microgrids.

Use Case Description of Real-Time Control of Microgrid Flexibility

“…In the literature, different methods to connect these flexibility resources to management of the grid through the operational market services are currently the object of much study. The underlying principle of much of this research can be summarized by the concept of flexibility service markets that represent a platform for activating flexibility trading and coordination between customers, market actors and grid operators [5], [6], [7]. One of the main functions of the platform is to improve information exchange about distribution network capacity within different time-frames between all actors to guarantee optimal operation of the network as a whole and enable new innovative energy services.…”