Duck Curve Aware Dynamic Pricing and Battery Scheduling Strategy Using Reinforcement Learning

The duck curve is becoming a global problem in energy technology due to the rapid increase in solar power adoption and the rise of prosumers. To address this issue, a resource aggregator (RA) has emerged to provide flexible solutions through aggregating the prosumers and demand response such as dynamic pricing. This paper proposes an optimal strategy for the RA that dispatches dynamic pricing to the prosumers and leverages the battery system at both RA and prosumer levels. The proposed method is based on a model-free deep reinforcement learning (DRL) algorithm to optimize each prosumer’s retail prices and schedule usage of the RA’s battery power station. An objective reward function is used to maximize the RA’s profit, minimize the prosumer’s cost, and maximize the improvement of the duck curve. The performance of the proposed DRL-based strategy was demonstrated by simulation experiments using actual wholesale price, demand, and PV generation data. The results show that the proposed strategy can improve the standard deviation and peak-to-average ratio of net load by up to 57.1% and 23%, respectively.Watari D., Taniguchi I., Onoye T.. Duck Curve Aware Dynamic Pricing and Battery Scheduling Strategy Using Reinforcement Learning. IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid , (2023); https://doi.org/10.1109/TSG.2023.3288355

A Methodology for Assessing the Feasibility of Pumped Hydroelectric Storage within Existing USACE Facilities

Variable, renewable energy (VRE) generation such as solar power has seen a rapid increase in usage over the past decades. These power generation sources offer benefits due to their low marginal costs and reduced emissions. However, VRE assets are not dispatchable, which can result in a mismatch of the electric supply and demand curves. Pumped-storage hydropower (PSH) seeks to solve this by pumping water uphill during times of excess energy production and releasing the water back downhill through turbines during energy shortages, thus serving as a rechargeable battery. Creating new PSH systems, however, requires a large amount of capital and suitable locations. The United States Army Corps. of Engineers (USACE) is the largest producer of hydroelectric power within the United States, and as such, may have favorable sites for the addition of PSH. This study seeks to develop a method for evaluating these existing hydroelectric facilities using techno-economic methods to assess the potential for adding PSH. Each USACE facility was evaluated based on site specific characteristics from previously unpublished data to estimate the power generation and energy storage potential. The temporal nature of local wholesale electricity prices was accounted for to help estimate the financial feasibility of varying locations. Sensitivity analysis was performed to highlight how the method would identify the viability of facilities with different operational conditions. The methodologies detailed in this study will inform decision-making processes, and help enable a sustainable electric grid

Over the Precipice: Transitional Pressures from Household PV Battery Adoption on Electricity Markets and the Potential for Decarbonisation

The electricity system is undergoing simultaneous change from the integration of large-scale wind and solar farms to the rapid growth of rooftop solar in over 3 million Australian households. This research establishes a range of future impacts that households with solar PV and battery systems could have on the wider power sector, the extent to which policymakers may influence their outcome, and their potential contribution to decarbonisation as an emerging source of renewable energy

Transitioning to Affordable and Clean Energy

Transitioning to Affordable and Clean Energy is a collective volume which combines original contributions and review papers that address the question how the transition to clean and affordable energy can be governed. It will cover both general analyses of the governance of transition, including policy instruments, comparative studies of countries or policies, and papers setting out scientifically sound visions of a clean and just energy system. In particular, the following aspects are foregrounded: • Governing the supply and demand side transformation • Geographical and cultural differences and their consequences for the governance of energy transitions • Sustainability and justice related to energy transitions (e.g., approaches for addressing energy poverty) Transitioning to Affordable and Clean Energy is part of MDPI's new Open Access book series Transitioning to Sustainability. With this series, MDPI pursues environmentally and socially relevant research which contributes to efforts toward a sustainable world. Transitioning to Sustainability aims to add to the conversation about regional and global sustainable development according to the 17 SDGs. The book series is intended to reach beyond disciplinary, even academic boundaries

Transitioning power distribution grid into nanostructured ecosystem : prosumer-centric sovereignty

PhD ThesisGrowing acceptance for in-house Distributed Energy Resource (DER) installations at lowvoltage level have gained much significance in recent years due to electricity market liberalisations and opportunities in reduced energy billings through personalised utilisation management for targeted business model. In consequence, modelling of passive customers’ electric power system are progressively transitioned into Prosumer-based settings where presidency for Transactive Energy (TE) system framework is favoured. It amplifies Prosumers’ commitments into annexing TE values during market participations and optimised energy management to earn larger rebates and incentives from TE programs. However, when dealing with mass Behind-The-Meter DER administrations, Utility foresee managerial challenges when dealing with distribution network analysis, planning, protection, and power quality security based on Prosumers’ flexibility in optimising their energy needs. This dissertation contributes prepositions into modelling Distributed Energy Resources Management System (DERMS) as an aggregator designed for Prosumer-centered cooperation, interoperating TE control and coordination as key parameters to market for both optimised energy trading and ancillary services in a Community setting. However, Prosumers are primarily driven to create a profitable business model when modelling their DERMS aggregator. Greedy-optimisation exploitations are negative concerns when decisions made resulted in detrimental-uncoordinated outcomes on Demand-Side Response (DSR) and capacity market engagements. This calls for policy decision makers to contract safe (i.e. cooperative yet competitive tendency) business models for Prosumers to maximise TE values while enhancing network’s power quality metrics and reliability performances. Firstly, digitalisation and nanostructuring of distribution network is suggested to identify Prosumer as a sole energy citizen while extending bilateral trading between Prosumer-to- Prosumer (PtP) with the involvements of other grid operators−TE system. Modelling of Nanogrid environment for DER integrations and establishment of local area network infrastructure for IoT security (i.e. personal computing solutions and data protection) are committed for communal engagements in a decentralise setting. Secondly, a multi-layered Distributed Control Framework (DCF) is proposed using Microsoft Azure cloud-edge platform that cascades energy actors into respective layers of TE control and coordination. Furthermore, modelling of flexi-edge computing architecture is proposed, comprising of Contract-Oriented Sensor-based Application Platform (COSAP) employing Multi-Agent System (MAS) to enhance data-sharing privacy and contract coalition agreements during PtP engagements. Lastly, the Agents of MAS are programmed with cooperative yet competitive intelligences attributed to Reinforcement Learning (RL) and Neural Networks (NN) algorithms to solve multimodal socio-economical and uncertainty problems that corresponded to Prosumers’ dynamic energy priorities within the TE framework. To verify the DERMS aggregator operations, three business models were proposed (i.e. greedy-profit margin, collegial-peak demand, reserved-standalone) to analyse comparative technical/physical and economic/social dimensions. Results showed that the proposed TE-valued DERMS aggregator provides participation versatility in the electricity market that enables competitive edginess when utilising Behind-The-Meter DERs in view of Prosumer’s asset scheduling, bidding strategy, and corroborative ancillary services. Performance metrics were evaluated on both domestic and industrial NG environments against IEEE Standard 2030.7-2017 & 2030.8-2018 compliances to ensure deployment practicability. Subsequently, proposed in-house protection system for DER installation serves as an add-on monitoring service which can be incorporated into existing Advance Distribution Management System (ADMS) for Distribution Service Operator (DSO) and field engineers use, ADMS aggregator. It provides early fault detections and isolation processes from allowing fault current to propagate upstream causing cascading power quality issues across the feeder line. In addition, ADMS aggregator also serves as islanding indicator that distinguishes Nanogrid’s islanding state from unintentional or intentional operations. Therefore, a Overcurrent Current Relay (OCR) is proposed using Fuzzy Logic (FL) algorithm to detect, profile, and provide decisional isolation processes using specified OCRs. Moreover, the proposed expert knowledge in FL is programmed to detect fault crises despite insufficient fault current level contributed by DER (i.e. solar PV system) which conventional OCR fails to trigger

Engineering User-Centric Smart Charging Systems

Die Integration erneuerbarer Energiequellen und die Sektorenkopplung erhöhen den Bedarf an Flexibilität im Elektrizitätssystem. Elektrofahrzeuge koordiniert zu Laden bietet die Chance solche Flexibilität bereitzustellen. Allerdings hängt das Flexibilitätspotential von Elektrofahrzeugen davon ab in welchem Umfang sich die Nutzer der Fahrzeuge dazu entschließen intelligentes Laden zu nutzen. Ziel dieser Dissertation ist es Lösungen für intelligente Ladesysteme zu entwickeln, welche die Nutzer zu flexiblerem Laden anreizen und diese dabei zu unterstützen. Anhand eines Literaturüberblicks und einer Expertenbefragung werden zunächst Ziele identifiziert, welche Nutzer zu einer flexiblen Ladung motivieren können. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass neben finanziellen Anreizen auch die Integration erneuer-barer Energien und die Vermeidung von Netzengpässen einen Anreiz für das flexible La-den darstellen können. In der Folge wird untersucht, ob das Framing der Ladesituation hinsichtlich dieser Ziele die Ladeflexibilität von Elektrofahrzeugnutzern beeinflussen kann. Hierzu wird ein Online-Experiment mit Elektrofahrzeugnutzern evaluiert. Das sich ein Teil der Nutzer bei einem Umwelt-Framing flexibler verhält, macht Feedback darüber, wie die CO2-Emissionen von der bereitgestellten Flexibilität abhängen zu einem vielversprechenden Anreiz intelligentes Laden zu nutzen. Um solches Feedback zu er-möglichen werden als Nächstes die CO2-Einsparpotenziale eines optimierten Ladens im Vergleich zu unkontrolliertem Laden untersucht. Dazu werden die marginalen Emissions-faktoren im deutschen Stromnetz mithilfe eines regressionsbasierten Ansatzes ermittelt. Um Echtzeit-Feedback in realen Systemen zu ermöglichen wird darauf aufbauend eine Prognosemethode für Emissionsfaktoren entwickelt. Die Zielerreichung intelligenten Ladens hängt hauptsächlich von der zeitlichen und energetischen Flexibilität der Elektrofahrzeuge ab. Damit Nutzer diese Ladeeinstellungen nicht bei jeder Ankunft an der Ladestation von Hand eingeben zu müssen, könnten sie durch intelligente Assistenten unterstützt werden. Hierfür werden probabilistische Prognosen für die Flexibilität einzelner Ladevorgänge basierend auf historischen Ladevorgängen und Mobilitätsmustern entwickelt. Darüber hinaus zeigt eine Fallstudie, dass probabilistische Prognosen besser als Punktprognosen dazu geeignet sind die Ladung mehrerer Elektrofahrzeuge zu koordinieren

Full Proceedings, 2018

Full conference proceedings for the 2018 International Building Physics Association Conference hosted at Syracuse University

A Comprehensive Guide to Solar Energy Systems With Special Focus on Photovoltaic Systems

This book, the most advanced and research focused text on all aspects of solar energy engineering, is a must have edition on the present state of solar technology, integration and worldwide distribution. In addition, the book provides a high-level assessment of the growth trends in photovoltaics and how investment, planning and economic infrastructure can support those innovations. Each chapter includes a research overview with a detailed analysis and new case studies that look at how recent research developments can be applied. Written by some of the most forward-thinking professionals, this book is an invaluable reference for engineers. Key Features Contains analysis of the latest high-level research and explores real world application potential in relation to developments Uses system international (SI) units and imperial units throughout to appeal to global engineers Offers measurable data written by a world expert in the field on the latest developments in this fast moving and vital subject Readership Energy engineers, researchers, graduate students, professors and lecturers in Engineering, scientists and engineers working in energy, industrialists and engineers working in future energy development

日射量予測を考慮した太陽光発電コミュニティにおけるエネルギーシェアリングに関する研究

The power sector plays an important role in energy conservation and emission reduction. Renewable energy, especially solar PV, has been growing steadily in recent years. The development of solar energy can not only reduce the use of fossil energy, but also increase the energy self-sufficiency rate. After the implementation of the FiT system in 2011, there has been an explosive growth in the import of solar PV. However, solar power generation exhibits unstable output characteristics as it is affected by weather conditions. Large-scale introduction can affect the stability of the grid. Therefore, this study considers the unstable weather conditions (mainly, solar radiation) and proposes the concept of energy sharing to increase the chances of local energy self-consumption and renewable energy penetration in the future. At the same time, we aim to explore the interactions between smart grids, smart buildings, and distributed energy storage to achieve better energy management practices.北九州市立大