Decision support for participation in electricity markets considering the transaction of services and electricity at the local level

[EN] The growing concerns regarding the lack of fossil fuels, their costs, and their impact on the environment have led governmental institutions to launch energy policies that promote the increasing installation of technologies that use renewable energy sources to generate energy. The increasing penetration of renewable energy sources brings a great fluctuation on the generation side, which strongly affects the power and energy system management. The control of this system is moving from hierarchical and central to a smart and distributed approach. The system operators are nowadays starting to consider the final end users (consumers and prosumers) as a part of the solution in power system operation activities. In this sense, the end-users are changing their behavior from passive to active players. The role of aggregators is essential in order to empower the end-users, also contributing to those behavior changes. Although in several countries aggregators are legally recognized as an entity of the power and energy system, its role being mainly centered on representing end-users in wholesale market participation. This work contributes to the advancement of the state-of-the-art with models that enable the active involvement of the end-users in electricity markets in order to become key participants in the management of power and energy systems. Aggregators are expected to play an essential role in these models, making the connection between the residential end-users, electricity markets, and network operators. Thus, this work focuses on providing solutions to a wide variety of challenges faced by aggregators. The main results of this work include the developed models to enable consumers and prosumers participation in electricity markets and power and energy systems management. The proposed decision support models consider demand-side management applications, local electricity market models, electricity portfolio management, and local ancillary services. The proposed models are validated through case studies based on real data. The used scenarios allow a comprehensive validation of the models from different perspectives, namely end-users, aggregators, and network operators. The considered case studies were carefully selected to demonstrate the characteristics of each model, and to demonstrate how each of them contributes to answering the research questions defined to this work.[ES] La creciente preocupación por la escasez de combustibles fósiles, sus costos y su impacto en el medio ambiente ha llevado a las instituciones gubernamentales a lanzar políticas energéticas que promuevan la creciente instalación de tecnologías que utilizan fuentes de energía renovables para generar energía. La creciente penetración de las fuentes de energía renovable trae consigo una gran fluctuación en el lado de la generación, lo que afecta fuertemente la gestión del sistema de potencia y energía. El control de este sistema está pasando de un enfoque jerárquico y central a un enfoque inteligente y distribuido. Actualmente, los operadores del sistema están comenzando a considerar a los usuarios finales (consumidores y prosumidores) como parte de la solución en las actividades de operación del sistema eléctrico. En este sentido, los usuarios finales están cambiando su comportamiento de jugadores pasivos a jugadores activos. El papel de los agregadores es esencial para empoderar a los usuarios finales, contribuyendo también a esos cambios de comportamiento. Aunque en varios países los agregadores están legalmente reconocidos como una entidad del sistema eléctrico y energético, su papel se centra principalmente en representar a los usuarios finales en la participación del mercado mayorista. Este trabajo contribuye al avance del estado del arte con modelos que permiten la participación activa de los usuarios finales en los mercados eléctricos para convertirse en participantes clave en la gestión de los sistemas de potencia y energía. Se espera que los agregadores desempeñen un papel esencial en estos modelos, haciendo la conexión entre los usuarios finales residenciales, los mercados de electricidad y los operadores de red. Por lo tanto, este trabajo se enfoca en brindar soluciones a una amplia variedad de desafíos que enfrentan los agregadores. Los principales resultados de este trabajo incluyen los modelos desarrollados para permitir la participación de los consumidores y prosumidores en los mercados eléctricos y la gestión de los sistemas de potencia y energía. Los modelos de soporte de decisiones propuestos consideran aplicaciones de gestión del lado de la demanda, modelos de mercado eléctrico local, gestión de cartera de electricidad y servicios auxiliares locales. Los modelos propuestos son validan mediante estudios de casos basados en datos reales. Los escenarios utilizados permiten una validación integral de los modelos desde diferentes perspectivas, a saber, usuarios finales, agregadores y operadores de red. Los casos de estudio considerados fueron cuidadosamente seleccionados para demostrar las características de cada modelo y demostrar cómo cada uno de ellos contribuye a responder las preguntas de investigación definidas para este trabajo

THE STABILITY ANALYSIS FOR WIND TURBINES WITH DOUBLY FED INDUCTION GENERATORS

The quickly increasing, widespread use of wind generation around the world reduces carbon emissions, decreases the effects of global warming, and lowers dependence on fossil fuels. However, the growing penetration of wind power requires more effort to maintain power systems stability. This dissertation focuses on developing a novel algorithm which dynamically optimizes the proportional-integral (PI) controllers of a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) driven by a wind turbine to increase the transient performance based on small signal stability analysis. Firstly, the impact of wind generation is introduced. The stability of power systems with wind generation is described, including the different wind generator technologies, and the challenges in high wind penetration conditions. Secondly, the small signal stability analysis model of wind turbines with DFIG is developed, including detailed rotor/grid side converter models, and the interface with the power grid. Thirdly, Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is selected to off-line calculate the optimal parameters of DFIG PI gains to maximize the damping ratios of system eigenvalues in different wind speeds. Based on the historical data, the artificial neural networks (ANNs) are designed, trained, and have the ability to quickly forecast the optimal parameters. The ANN controllers are designed to dynamically adjust PI gains online. Finally, system studies have been provided for a single machine connected to an infinite bus system (SMIB), a single machine connected to a weak grid (SMWG), and a multi machine system (MMS), respectively. A detailed analysis for MMS with different wind penetration levels has been shown according to grid code. Moreover, voltage stability improvement and grid loss reduction in IEEE 34-bus distribution system, including WT-DFIG under unbalanced heavy loading conditions, are investigated. The simulation results show the algorithm can greatly reduce low frequency oscillations and improve transient performance of DFIGs system. It realizes off-line optimization of MMS, online forecasts the optimal PI gains, and adaptively adjusts PI gains. The results also provide some useful conclusions and explorations for wind generation design, operations, and connection to the power grid. Advisors: Sohrab Asgarpoor and Wei Qia

THE STABILITY ANALYSIS FOR WIND TURBINES WITH DOUBLY FED INDUCTION GENERATORS

The quickly increasing, widespread use of wind generation around the world reduces carbon emissions, decreases the effects of global warming, and lowers dependence on fossil fuels. However, the growing penetration of wind power requires more effort to maintain power systems stability. This dissertation focuses on developing a novel algorithm which dynamically optimizes the proportional-integral (PI) controllers of a doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) driven by a wind turbine to increase the transient performance based on small signal stability analysis. Firstly, the impact of wind generation is introduced. The stability of power systems with wind generation is described, including the different wind generator technologies, and the challenges in high wind penetration conditions. Secondly, the small signal stability analysis model of wind turbines with DFIG is developed, including detailed rotor/grid side converter models, and the interface with the power grid. Thirdly, Particle swarm optimization (PSO) is selected to off-line calculate the optimal parameters of DFIG PI gains to maximize the damping ratios of system eigenvalues in different wind speeds. Based on the historical data, the artificial neural networks (ANNs) are designed, trained, and have the ability to quickly forecast the optimal parameters. The ANN controllers are designed to dynamically adjust PI gains online. Finally, system studies have been provided for a single machine connected to an infinite bus system (SMIB), a single machine connected to a weak grid (SMWG), and a multi machine system (MMS), respectively. A detailed analysis for MMS with different wind penetration levels has been shown according to grid code. Moreover, voltage stability improvement and grid loss reduction in IEEE 34-bus distribution system, including WT-DFIG under unbalanced heavy loading conditions, are investigated. The simulation results show the algorithm can greatly reduce low frequency oscillations and improve transient performance of DFIGs system. It realizes off-line optimization of MMS, online forecasts the optimal PI gains, and adaptively adjusts PI gains. The results also provide some useful conclusions and explorations for wind generation design, operations, and connection to the power grid. Advisors: Sohrab Asgarpoor and Wei Qia

Optimal Participation of Power Generating Companies in a Deregulated Electricity Market

The function of an electric utility is to make stable electric power available to consumers in an efficient manner. This would include power generation, transmission, distribution and retail sales. Since the early nineties however, many utilities have had to change from the vertically integrated structure to a deregulated system where the services were unbundled due to a rapid demand growth and need for better economic benefits. With the unbundling of services came competition which pushed innovation and led to the improvement of efficiency. In a deregulated power system, power generators submit offers to sell energy and operating reserve in the electricity market. The market can be described more as oligopolistic with a System Operator in-charge of the power grid, matching the offers to supply with the bid in demands to determine the market clearing price for each interval. This price is what is paid to all generators. Energy is sold in the day-ahead market where offers are submitted hours prior to when it is needed. The spot energy market caters to unforeseen rise in load demand and thus commands a higher price for electrical energy than the day-ahead market. A generating company can improve its profit by using an appropriate bidding strategy. This improvement is affected by the nature of bids from competitors and uncertainty in demand. In a sealed bid auction, bids are submitted simultaneously within a timeframe and are confidential, thus a generator has no information on rivals’ bids. There have been studies on methods used by generators to build optimal offers considering competition. However, many of these studies base estimations of rivals’ behaviour on analysis with sufficient bidding history data from the market. Historical data on bidding behaviour may not be readily available in practical systems. The work reported in this thesis explores ways a generator can make security-constrained offers in different markets considering incomplete market information. It also incorporates possible uncertainty in load forecasts. The research methodology used in this thesis is based on forecasting and optimization. Forecasts of market clearing price for each market interval are calculated and used in the objective function of profit maximization to get maximum benefit at the interval. Making these forecasts includes competition into the bid process. Results show that with information on historical data available, a generator can make adequate short-term analysis on market behaviour and thus optimize its benefits for the period. This thesis provides new insights into power generators’ approach in making optimal bids to maximize market benefits

A review of hierarchical control for building microgrids

Building microgrids have emerged as an advantageous alternative for tackling environmental issues while enhancing the electricity distribution system. However, uncertainties in power generation, electricity prices and power consumption, along with stringent requirements concerning power quality restrain the wider development of building microgrids. This is due to the complexity of designing a reliable and robust energy management system. Within this context, hierarchical control has proved suitable for handling different requirements simultaneously so that it can satisfactorily adapt to building environments. In this paper, a comprehensive literature review of the main hierarchical control algorithms for building microgrids is discussed and compared, emphasising their most important strengths and weaknesses. Accordingly, a detailed explanation of the primary, secondary and tertiary levels is presented, highlighting the role of each control layer in adapting building microgrids to current and future electrical grid structures. Finally, some insights for forthcoming building prosumers are outlined, identifying certain barriers when dealing with building microgrid communities

Power System Stability Assessment and Enhancement using Computational Intelligence

The main objective of the dissertation is to develop a fast and robust tool for assessment of power system stability and design a framework for enhancing system stability. The proposed framework is - based on the investigation of the dynamic behavior of the system - a market based rescheduling strategy that increases the stability margin. The dissertation specifically puts emphasis on the following approached: Power System Stability Evaluation: System stability is investigated by simulating a set of critical contingencies to determine whether the disturbances will result in any unsafe operating conditions and extract the necessary information to classify system states. The classification is based on the computation of the critical fault clearing time (CCT) for transient stability assessment (TSA) and the minimum damping of oscillation (MDO) for power system oscillatory stability assessment (OSA). The customary method of power system transient stability analysis including time-domain simulation (TDS) is used to compute the CCT at each critical contingency and Prony analysis as an efficient identification technique to estimate the mode parameters from the actual time response. The use of Prony analysis is to account for the effects of the change in location of the small disturbances as well as the increase in system nonlinearity on oscillating modes. Fast Power System Stability Assessment Tool: An artificial neural network (ANN) is designed to serve as accurate and fast tool for dynamic stability assessment (DSA). Fast response of ANN allows system operators to take suitable control actions to enhance the system stability and to forestall any possible impending breakup of the system. Two offline trained ANN are designed to map the dynamic behavior by relating the selected input features and the calculated CCT (as indicator for transient stability) and MDO (as indicator for oscillatory stability). Input features of ANN are selected to characterize the following: Changes in system topology and power distributions due to outage of major equipment such as transmission line, generation unit or large load Change in fault location and the severity of the fault Variation in loading levels and load allocation among market participants The features are generated for a wide range of loading at each expected system topology. Initial feature sets are pre-selected by engineering judgment based on experience in power system operation. In order to improve the accuracy of ANN to map the power system dynamic behavior, final selection is performed in the following three steps. In the first step, the generators terminal voltage drops immediately after fault are selected features to characterize the severity of the contingency with respect to the generators and to detect the fault location. In the second step, new features based on the inertia constant and the generated power in each area are calculated to characterize the changes in system topology and power flow pattern during normal and abnormal operation. In the third step, a systematic clustering feature selection technique is used to select the most important features that characterize the load levels and the power flow through lines from the mathematical viewpoint. The results prove the suitability of ANN in DSA with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Dynamic Stability Enhancement: To achieve online dynamic stability enhancement an online market based rescheduling strategy is proposed in the deregulated power systems. In case of power system operation by a centralized pool in vertically integrated electric utilities, generation rescheduling based sensitivity analysis is proposed. In the proposed market for deregulated power systems, the transactions among suppliers and consumers participating in the market are reallocated based on optional power bids to enhance system stability in case the available control actions are insufficient to enhance system stability. All participants are allowed to submit voluntary power bids to increase or decrease their scheduled level with equal chance. These bids represent the offered power quantity and the corresponding price. The goal of the framework is to enhance system stability with minimum additional and opportunity costs arising from the rescheduling. In case of vertically integrated electric utility, generation rescheduling based sensitivity analysis is used to enhance the system stability. The sensitivity analysis is based on the generators response following the most probable contingency. The generators are split into critical machines with positive sensitivity and non-critical machines with negative sensitivity. The change of the generation level among critical and non-critical machines provides the trajectories for stabilization procedure. The re-allocation of power among generators in each group is calculated based on the generator capacities and inertia constant, which simplifies the optimization procedure and speeds up the iterative to find a feasible solution. The objective is to minimize the increase in the cost due to rescheduling process. Particle swarm optimization is used as an optimization tool to search for the optimal solution to enhance the system stability with a minimum cost. The handling of all system constraints including stability constraints is achieved using a self-adaptive penalty function. Comparison strategy for selecting the best individuals during the optimization process is proposed where the feasible solutions are ever preferable during selection of local and global best particles.Die Schwerpunkte der Dissertation liegen in der Entwicklung eines schnellen und robusten Echtzeit-Bewertungsinstruments für Stabilitätsuntersuchungen in elektrischen Energienetzen und in dem Entwurf von Rahmenbedingungen zur Verbesserung der Systemstabilität. Basierend auf Untersuchungen bezüglich des dynamischen Verhaltens von elektrischen Energienetzen ist das Ziel der vorgeschlagenen Rahmenbedingungen, eine Planungsstrategie zu entwickeln, die marktwirtschaftlich ausgerichtet ist, um so die Stabilitätsgrenze zu verbessern und die erforderliche Systemsicherheit zu gewährleisten. Die dynamische Stabilität von elektrischen Energienetzen wurde bezogen auf die transiente und oszillatorische Stabilität untersucht, welche zur Beurteilung des dynamischen Verhaltens des Systems während Netzstörungen genutzt wird. Das Ziel der Dissertation ist die folgenden Aspekte zu untersuchen: Evaluierung der Dynamischen Stabilität: Die dynamische Stabilität ist durch die Simulation von kritischen Netzereignissen untersucht worden. Ziel war es, Störungen zu ermitteln, die zu kritischen oder gar unsicheren Betriebszuständen führen, und wichtige Beurteilungsparameter über den Zustand des Netzes auszuwählen. Die Beurteilungsparameter über den Zustand des elektrischen Energienetzes sind unter Verwendung der kritischen Fehlerklärungszeit als Indikator für die transiente Stabilität und der minimalen Dämpfung von Oszillationen als Indikator für die ozillatorische Stabilität ermittelt worden. Die übliche Methode bei einer transienten Stabilitätsanalyse in elektrischen Energienetzen basiert auf Simulationen im Zeitbereich und wird unter der Verwendung von vordefinierten netzkritischen Ereignissen genutzt, um die kritische Fehlerklärungszeit präzise zu berechnen. Die Prony-Analyse als eine effiziente Identifizierungstechnik wird zur Schätzung der Zustandsparameter auf eine einer Störung folgenden Zeitantwort verwendet. Der Gebrauch der Prony-Analyse erfasst die Veränderungen im Fehlerort von kleinen Störungen und einen Anstieg von Systemnichtlinearitäten im oszillatorischen Modus. Die mit Hilfe der Modalanalyse berechneten Parameter für den oszillatorischen Modus werden als Referenzsignale während des Abstimmens der Parameter der Prony-Analyse verwendet. Ziel ist die Verbesserung der Identifizierung des Systemmodus. Schnelles Bewertungswerkzeug für die dynamische Stabilität: Ein präzises und schnelles Werkzeug für die Bewertung von dynamischer Stabilität wurde mit Hilfe von künstlichen, neuronalen Netzen entwickelt. Die schnelle Antwort eines künstlichen, neuronalen Netzes ermöglicht es dem Netzbetreiber, geeignete fehlerbehebende Schalthandlungen während kritischer Netzereignisse durchzuführen. So kann die Stabilität des elektrischen Netzes gewährleistet und bevorstehende Netzausfälle verhindert werden. Zwei offline trainierte künstliche neuronale Netze sind entwickelt worden, um a) das dynamische Verhalten unter Verwendung ausgewählter Eingangseigenschaften und b) die berechnete kritische Fehlerklärungszeit als Indikator für die transiente Stabilität und die minimale Dämpfung der Oszillationen als Indikator für ozillatorische Stabilität abzubilden. Künstliche, neuronale Netze bieten vielversprechende Lösungen für schnelle Berechnungen bei online Anwendungen. Als Folge kann die hohe Anzahl an Berechnungen, die zur Untersuchung aller zu erwartenden kritischen Netzereignissen in elektrischen Energienetzen benötigt werden, schnell durchgeführt werden. Dies ermöglicht eine Bewertung der Systemzustände des elektrischen Netzes und eine Initiierung der zu erwartenden Schalthandlungen, um so die Systemstabilität zu verbessern. Für eine genaue Bewertung der dynamischen Stabilität sollten die Eingangseigenschaften für das künstliche, neuronale Netz sorgfältig ausgewählt werden. In dieser Arbeit sind die Eingangseigenschaften aus den gesamten Systemdaten ausgewählt worden, um die folgenden Eigenschaften kennzuzeichnen: i. Veränderungen in der Systemtopologie und des Lastflusses durch Ausfälle oder planmäßige Wartungen von Hauptkomponenten des Systems, wie zum Beispiel Übertragungsleitungen, Erzeugereinheiten oder großen Lasten ii. Veränderungen des Fehlerortes und des Einflusses des Fehlers auf die elektrischen Komponenten iii. Laständerungen und Lastaufteilung zwischen Netzversorgern Die Eingangseigenschaften wurden für viele, unterschiedliche Lastszenarien in Verbindung mit den zu erwartenden Netztopologien erzeugt. Die Anfangsbedingungen sind auf Grund von Erfahrungen mit dem Betrieb von elektrischen Energienetzen und bedingt durch das zu schätzende Ziel vorausgewählt. Die endgültige Auswahl der Eingangseigenschaften ist in drei Schritte unterteilt, um so die Genauigkeit des künstlichen, neuronalen Netzes zu erhöhen, welches die dynamische Stabilität des Energienetzes abbildet. Im ersten Schritt sind die Generatorklemmenspannungseinbrüche direkt nach der Netzstörung die wichtigen ausgewählten Eigenschaften. Hierdurch wird die Schwere des kritischen Netzereignisses aus der Sicht der Erzeugungseinheit gekennzeichnet und die Fehlerstelle lokalisiert. In dem zweiten Schritt werden neue Eingangseigenschaften basierend auf der Massenträgheitskonstante des Systems und der erzeugten Leistung in jedem Gebiet berechnet. So können Veränderungen in der Netztopologie und des Lastflusses unter normalen und gestörten Betriebsbedingungen gekennzeichnet werden. Im dritten Schritt wird eine systematische Cluster-Bildung der Eigenschaften genutzt, um so die wichtigsten Eigenschaften auszuwählen, die Aussagen über die Lastzustände und den Lastfluss über die Leitungen zulassen. Alle ausgewählten Eigenschaften repräsentieren das Eingangsmuster, wobei das Ausgangsmuster der Index der dynamischen Stabilitätsanalyse ist. Die Ergebnisse stellen die Eignung des künstlichen, neuronalen Netzes bei der Bewertung der dynamischen Stabilität dar. Verbesserung der dynamischen Stabilität: Eine online Verbesserung der dynamischen Stabilität kann durch eine vorgeschlagene marktwirtschaftliche Neuplanung des deregulierten Energiesystems und durch eine Neuplanung der Erzeugungseinheiten basierend auf der Empfindlichkeitsanalyse im Falle des Betriebs des Energienetzes durch eine zentrale Einheit erreicht werden. In dem vorgeschlagenen Markt für deregulierte Energiesysteme wird im Falle, dass vorgesehenen Schalthandlungen das Netz nicht in einen stabilen Zustand zurückbringen kann, die Energie zwischen Versorgern und Verbrauchern basierend auf optionalen Leistungsgeboten umgeschichtet. Alle Erzeuger und Verbraucher sind berechtigt an diesem Markt durch freiwillige Leistungsgebote teilzunehmen, um so ihre geplante Menge chancengleich zu erhöhen oder zu verkleinern. Diese Gebote der Marktteilnehmer repräsentieren die angebotene Leistungsmenge und den darauf bezogenen Preis. Teilnehmer, von denen es verlangt ist, Erzeugung oder Verbrauch zu reduzieren, werden für diese Möglichkeit zur Reduzierung bezahlt. So kann der Verlust der Serviceleistung kompensiert werden, während Teilnehmer, deren Leistung erhöht wird, durch den Marktpreis plus zusätzlicher Kosten für zusätzliche Veränderungen entlohnt werden. Das Ziel dieser Rahmenbedingungen ist eine Verbesserung der Systemstabilität kombiniert mit einem Minimum an zusätzlichen Kosten auftretend durch die Neuplanung. Im Falle eines zentralen Energiemarktes wird die Neuplanung der Erzeuger basierend auf der Empfindlichkeitsanalyse durchgeführt, um so eine Verbesserung der Systemstabilität zu erreichen. Die Empfindlichkeitsanalyse bezieht sich auf die Systemantwort des Generators während des belastbarsten kritischen Netzereignisses. Dieses kritische Netzereignis trennt die Erzeugungseinheiten a) in kritische Maschinen, die eine positive Empfindlichkeit besitzen, und b) in nicht-kritische Maschinen mit einer negativen Empfindlichkeit. Die Einteilung in kritische und nicht-kritische Maschinen ermöglicht eine Lösung für die Stabilisierung des Systems. Die Verteilung der verschobenen Leistung zwischen den Generatoren in jeder Gruppe wird unter Verwendung der Generatorleistungen und der Massenträgheitskonstanten berechnet. Dies erleichtert den Optimierungsalgorithmus und beschleunigt das Erhalten einer möglichen Lösung. Das Ziel ist die Minimierung der Erhöhung der Kosten für die absolut erzeugte Leistung auf Grund der Abweichung vom wirtschaftlichen Arbeitspunkt. In dieser Arbeit wird die Particle Swarm Optimierung als Werkzeug verwendet, um damit eine optimale Lösung mit den minimalen Kosten zu erlangen. Dadurch kann eine Verbesserung der dynamischen Stabilität des elektrischen Energienetzes unter Berücksichtigung aller systembedingten Nebenbedingungen erlangt werden. Die Handhabung aller systembedingten Nebenbedingungen inklusive der Nebenbedingungen der dynamischen Stabilität kann durch eine selbstanpassende Straffunktion erreicht werden

DSO Contract Market for Demand Response Using Evolutionary Computation

In this article, a cost optimization problem in local energy markets is analyzed considering fixed-term flexibility contracts between the DSO and aggregators. The DSO procures flexibility while aggregators of different types (e.g., conventional demand response or thermo-load aggregators) offer the service. We solve the proposed model using evolutionary algorithms based on the well-known differential evolution (DE). First, a parameter-tuning analysis is done to assess the impact of the DE parameters on the quality of solutions to the problem. Later, after finding the best set of parameters for the "tuned" DE strategies, we compare their performance with other self-adaptive parameter algorithms, namely the HyDE, HyDE-DF, and vortex search algorithms. Results show that with the identification of the best set of parameters to be used for each strategy, the tuned DE versions lead to better results than the other tested EAs. Overall, the algorithms are able to find near-optimal solutions to the problem and can be considered an alternative solver for more complex instances of the model.This research has received funding from FEDER funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (COMPETE 2020) and National Funds through the FCT Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, under Projects PTDC/EEIEEE/28983/2017(CENERGETIC), CEECIND/02814/2017 (Joao Soares grant), and UIDB/000760/2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Study and analysis of the use of flexibility in local electricity markets

In this work an introduction to Local Electricity Markets (LEM) was done and afterwards evolutionary algorithms (EAs) such as Differential Evolution (DE), HybridAdaptive Differential Evolution (HyDE), Hybrid-Adaptive Differential Evolution with Decay Function (HyDE-DF) and Vortex Search (VS) were applied to a market model in order to test its efficiency and scalability. Then, the market model was expanded adding a network model from the BISITE laboratory and again tests using the evolutionary algorithms were performed. In more detail, first a literature review is done about distributed generation, load flexibility, LEM and EAs. Then a cost optimization problem in Local Electricity Markets is analyzed considering fixed-term flexibility contracts between the distribution system operator (DSO) and aggregators. In this market structure, the DSO procures flexibility while aggregators of different types (e.g., conventional demand response or thermo-load aggregators) offer the service. Its then solved the proposed model using evolutionary algorithms based on the well-known differential evolution (DE). First, a parameter-tuning analysis is done to assess the impact of the DE parameters on the quality of solutions to the problem. Later, after finding the best set of parameters for the “tuned” DE strategies, we compare their performance with other self-adaptive parameter algorithms, namely the HyDE, HyDE-DF, and VS. Overall, the algorithms are able to find near-optimal solutions to the problem and can be considered an alternative solver for more complex instances of the model. After this a network model, from BISITE laboratory, is added to the problem and new analyses are performed using evolutionary algorithms along with MATPOWER power flow algorithms. Results show that evolutionary algorithms support from simple to complex problems, that is, it is a scalable algorithm, and with these results it is possible to perform analyses of the proposed market model.Neste trabalho foi feita uma introdução aos Mercados Locais de Eletricidade (MLE) e posteriormente foram aplicados algoritmos evolutivos (AEs) como Differential Evolution (DE), Hybrid-Adaptive Differential Evolution (HyDE), Hybrid-Adaptive Differential Evolution with Decay Function (HyDE-DF) e Vortex Search (VS) a um modelo de mercado a fim de testar a sua eficiência e escalabilidade. O modelo de mercado foi expandido adicionando uma rede do laboratório BISITE e novamente foram realizados testes usando os algoritmos evolutivos. Em mais detalhe, no trabalho primeiro foi feita uma revisão bibliográfica sobre geração distribuída, flexibilidade de carga, MLE e AEs. É analisado um problema de optimização de custos nos MLE, considerando contratos de flexibilidade a prazo fixo entre os agentes. O distribuidor adquire flexibilidade enquanto que os agregadores de diferentes tipos (por exemplo, os agregadores convencionais de resposta à procura ou de carga térmica) oferecem o serviço. Resolve-se depois o modelo proposto utilizando AEs baseados na conhecida DE. É feita uma análise de afinação de parâmetros para avaliar o impacto dos parâmetros DE na qualidade das soluções para o problema. Após encontrarmos o melhor conjunto de parâmetros para as estratégias DE "afinadas", comparamos o seu desempenho com outros algoritmos de parâmetros autoadaptáveis, nomeadamente o HyDE, HyDE-DF, e VS. Globalmente, os algoritmos são capazes de encontrar soluções quase óptimas para o problema e podem ser considerados um solucionador alternativo para instâncias mais complexas do modelo. Então um modelo de rede, do laboratório BISITE, é acrescentado ao problema e novas análises são realizadas utilizando algoritmos evolutivos juntamente com algoritmos de fluxo de potência MATPOWER. Os resultados mostram que os algoritmos evolutivos suportam desde problemas simples a complexos, ou seja, é um algoritmo escalável, e com estes resultados é possível realizar análises do modelo de mercado proposto