The DREAM innovative software architecture for high DG-RES distribution grids

The DREAM software architecture model describes a reference class model, that aids in integrating the different components for active distribution grids. Theapplication domains, in which the framework can be used range from simulation (proof-of-concept) to implementation (proof-of feasibility). The frameworkfacilitates interoperability on the software and hardware level as well as from the communication technology level. The framework was designed from a use casesperspective. The major functionality implemented relates to flexible, heterarchic aggregation and coordination ofdevices involved in demand and supply of electricity. In the grid context aim, is to achieve a common objective, prioritize actions and operate on various timescales of grid operational and market functions. To that end, in the framework, monitoring data are handled and stored in a distributed fashion in order to directly steer or coordinate the operation of devices. These persistent dataalso allow handling forecasts and create interaction possibilities with actors or communities of actors on global and local markets and with operations in activedistribution grids and customer energy management. A first implementation is now being built

Formalizing Textual Derivation Rules in the ORM method

De begeleider en/of auteur heeft geen toestemming gegeven tot het openbaar maken van de scriptie. The supervisor and/or the author did not authorize public publication of the thesis.

Transparency enhancing tools (TETs): An overview

As the amount of users' information collected and exchanged on the Internet is growing, so are, consequently, the users' concerns that their privacy might be violated. Some studies have shown that a large number of users avoid engaging in online services due to privacy concerns. It has been suggested that increased transparency of privacy related mechanisms may promote users' trust. This paper reviews the relationship between users' privacy concerns, transparency enhancing and privacy enhancing mechanisms on the one hand, and users' trust on the other, based on the existing literature. Our literature review demonstrates that previous studies have produced inconsistent results, implying this relationship should be re-examined in future work. Impact of higher transparency on users' trust has been insufficiently studied. Current research seems to suggest that the increase of the understanding of privacy issues increases importance of privacy for trust. Use of privacy enhancing mechanisms by service provider also seems to promote the trust, but this may only hold when these mechanisms are understood by the user. A need for tools that would provide users with this kind of knowledge has also been repeatedly recognized. Additionally, this paper provides an overview and description of the currently available transparency enhancing tools. To the best of our knowledge, no such overview has been available to this end. We demonstrate that the majority of tools promote awareness. Most of them attempt to provide a better understanding of privacy policies, or provide insight in the third party tracking behavior. Two tools have been identified that provide some insight in the collected user's data. No tool providing specific information on, or access to, processing logic has been identified. © 2013 IEEE

Applying innovative IT modelling methods to low‐level grid information for DSO operations

Distribution system operators will gather an increasing amount of electricity data from the lower level of the grid to be able to cope with several challenges, such as an increase of distributed, heterogeneous energy production, local storage, and electric vehicles. Most DSOs are not yet prepared for collecting, storing and processing these large amounts of data. This paper introduces a method for designing, validating and implementing such a system. The most important aspect of this method is the fact that the domain expert is able to validate the constructed conceptual model, before it is used to create a working system. This validation step adds to the quality of the model, and therefore to the resulting system. We have applied our method to a use case where a DSO researcher wants to answer questions such as "Can we recognize which appliances are present in households?" and "How can we cluster similar households?"

A heterarchic hybrid coordination approach for congestion management using the DREAM framework

Software agent-based strategies using micro-economic theory like PowerMatcher[1] have been utilized to coordinate demand and supply matching for electricity. Virtual power plants (VPPs) using these strategies have been tested in living lab environments on a scale of up to hundreds of households. So far, the coordination configuration of a VPP is fixed in these settings. The DREAM [2] framework architecture uses heterarchies to make parts of a VPP flexible in coordination strategy depending on the current operational grid status. In this way, a sub-VPP, serving one coordination objective, can decouple from and couple to an overarching VPP with another coordination objective dynamically. In this paper a grid congestion simulation with an overarching VPP coordinating demand and supply for electricity market optimization [3] and a sub-VPP reacting to a heat-pump congestion event in winter and a PV overproduction event in summer is described. The simulation was run in a static simulator [4]. The LV-segment consisted of ‘flameless’ residential areas with well-insulated homes with primarily heat pumps for heating and some renovated homes with local gas-fired co-generators of heat and electricity. Households additionally had solar cells, batteries and EV charging units. The goal of the additional coordination sub-VPP was to solve grid stability issues like congestion due to heat pump loads in winter and overproduction by PV in summer in this physical part locally, while the rest of the cluster remained unaffected and still optimizing for the commercial goal. The results were analyzed in terms of infringement of comfort parameters and performance in adapting the flexible load and generation. It appeared, substantial load shedding and load shifting of devices is possible to show the synergy in solving the grid stability issues evenly sharing the discomfort to the individual heating devices. By changing their charging strategy, the new algorithm also showed heat storage and electricity storage devices providing additional support. INTRODUCTION The simplest definition of flexibility can be given as a bandwidth around a required momentary power value of a connection or a device. The flexibility can be discriminated in a part to be used in normal operation, that, for example, might be expressed in a PowerMatcher bid-curve [1]. This part may be utilized by a commercial party in normal grid operation to balance the portfolio. The timescale for it to be mobilized is in the order of tens of seconds to minutes. Another part can be utilized as a contingency reserve by a grid operator to prevent the operation of the power system to go into a critical situation. The second part typically has to be used in the seconds scale. In micro-economic terms, primary processes, using electrical energy, have different utilities for flexibility on these different time scales. This economic utility can be translated in a price that can be used for coordination

A heterarchic hybrid coordination strategy for congestion management and market optimization using the DREAM framework

Software agent-based strategies using micro-economic theory like PowerMatcher[1] have been utilized to coordinate demand and supply matching for electricity. Virtual power plants (VPPs) using these strategies have been tested in living lab environments on a scale of up to hundreds of households. So far, the coordination configuration of a VPP is fixed in these settings. The DREAM [2] framework architecture uses heterarchies to make parts of a VPP flexible in coordination strategy depending on the current operational grid status. In this way, a sub-VPP, serving one coordination objective, can decouple from and couple to an overarching VPP with another coordination objective dynamically. In this paper a grid congestion simulation with an overarching VPP coordinating demand and supply for electricity market optimization [3] and a sub-VPP reacting to a heat-pump congestion event in winter and a PV overproduction event in summer is described. The simulation was run in a static simulator [4]. The LVsegment consisted of 'flameless' residential areas with well-insulated homes with primarily heat pumps for heating and some renovated homes with local gas-fired co-generators of heat and electricity. Households additionally had solar cells, batteries and EV charging units. The goal of the additional coordination sub-VPP was to solve grid stability issues like congestion due to heat pump loads in winter and overproduction by PV in summer in this physical part locally, while the rest of the cluster remained unaffected and still optimizing for the commercial goal. The results were analyzed in terms of infringement of comfort parameters and performance in adapting the flexible load and generation. It appeared, substantial load shedding and load shifting of devices is possible to show the synergy in solving the grid stability issues evenly sharing the discomfort to the individual heating devices. By changing their charging strategy, the new algorithm also showed heat storage and electricity storage devices providing additional support

DREAM: an ICT architecture framework for heterarchical coordination in power systems

Software agent-based strategies using micro-economic theory like PowerMatcher[1] have been utilized to coordinate demand and supply matching for electricity. Virtual power plants (VPPs) using these strategies have been tested in living lab environments on a scale of up to hundreds of households. So far, the coordination configuration of a VPP is fixed in these settings. The DREAM [2] framework architecture uses heterarchies to make parts of a VPP flexible in coordination strategy depending on the current operational grid status. In this way, a sub-VPP, serving one coordination objective, can decouple from and couple to an overarching VPP with another coordination objective dynamically. In this paper a grid congestion simulation with an overarching VPP coordinating demand and supply for electricity market optimization [3] and a sub-VPP reacting to a heat-pump congestion event in winter and a PV overproduction event in summer is described. The simulation was run in a static simulator [4]. The LV-segment consisted of ‘flameless’ residential areas with well-insulated homes with primarily heat pumps for heating and some renovated homes with local gas-fired co-generators of heat and electricity. Households additionally had solar cells, batteries and EV charging units. The goal of the additional coordination sub-VPP was to solve grid stability issues like congestion due to heat pump loads in winter and overproduction by PV in summer in this physical part locally, while the rest of the cluster remained unaffected and still optimizing for the commercial goal. The results were analyzed in terms of infringement of comfort parameters and performance in adapting the flexible load and generation. It appeared, substantial load shedding and load shifting of devices is possible to show the synergy in solving the grid stability issues evenly sharing the discomfort to the individual heating devices. By changing their charging strategy, the new algorithm also showed heat storage and electricity storage devices providing additional support

The DREAM innovative software architecture for high DG-RES distribution grids

The DREAM software architecture model describes a reference class model, that aids in integrating the different components for active distribution grids. Theapplication domains, in which the framework can be used range from simulation (proof-of-concept) to implementation (proof-of feasibility). The frameworkfacilitates interoperability on the software and hardware level as well as from the communication technology level. The framework was designed from a use casesperspective. The major functionality implemented relates to flexible, heterarchic aggregation and coordination ofdevices involved in demand and supply of electricity. In the grid context aim, is to achieve a common objective, prioritize actions and operate on various timescales of grid operational and market functions. To that end, in the framework, monitoring data are handled and stored in a distributed fashion in order to directly steer or coordinate the operation of devices. These persistent dataalso allow handling forecasts and create interaction possibilities with actors or communities of actors on global and local markets and with operations in activedistribution grids and customer energy management. A first implementation is now being built