A Methodology for Exploiting Smart Prosumers’ Flexibility in a Bottom-Up Aggregation Process

The electrical power system is evolving in a way that requires new measures for ensuring its secure and reliable operation. Demand-side aggregation represents one of the more interesting ways to provide ancillary services by the coordinated management of a multitude of different distributed resources. In this framework, aggregators play the main role in ensuring the effectiveness of the coordinated action of the distributed resources, usually becoming mediators in the relation between distribution system operators and smart prosumers. The research project DEMAND recently introduced a new concept in demand-side aggregation by proposing a scheme without a central aggregator where prosumers can share and combine their flexibility with a collaboration–competition mechanism in a platform called Virtual Aggregation Environment (VAE). This paper, after a brief introduction to the DEMAND project, presents the algorithm for the day-ahead estimation of prosumers’ flexibility and the cooperative–competitive algorithm for the bottom-up aggregation. The first algorithm evaluates various couples of power variation and desired remuneration to be sent to the VAE for further elaborations and, for showing its potentiality, is applied to two different case studies: a passive user with only controllable loads and prosumers with controllable loads, photovoltaics and a storage system. The aggregation algorithm is instead discussed in detail, and its performance is evaluated for different population sizes

DEMAND Project: Bottom-Up Aggregation of Prosumers in Distribution Networks

The paper explains the concept of the DEMAND project, whose aim is to develop a technical framework for allowing a Bottom-Up aggregation of prosumers connected to the distribution grid. Load and generation aggregation is a very current issue given the great potential that the coordinated management of distributed resources has on power systems operation and design. The novelty in DEMAND is the absence of a physical aggregator and the recourse to a virtual aggregation environment (VAE) for allowing the exchange of information among the prosumers in order to provide a service to the DSO. After a general description of the research project, the paper presents the services that the aggregated community can offer to the grid, the components to be installed at the prosumer's facility for the participation to the DEMAND community and the steps of the flexibility bidding and provision phases