Introducing user preferences for peer-to-peer electricity trading through stochastic multi-objective optimization

Peer-to-peer electricity markets are dedicated markets that enable the direct participation of small electricity end-users in energy trading activities. They are seen as a promising alternative that can empower end-users and accelerate the energy transition, by researchers, business developers, and legislators. Moreover, they can include environmental, social, or altruistic preferences that are relevant to end-users, in addition to the economic perspective. Such preferences are sometimes included in the modeling of P2P markets in the existing literature, but the assumptions behind them are rarely validated in practice. To investigate the desired attributes and preferences of end-users to participate in P2P markets, an online survey including a discrete choice experiment was conducted in The Netherlands The results of the survey are used to design a P2P electricity market with product differentiation. The participants in the market are residential end-users that are equipped with a home energy management system that can control some of the household appliances and automate the decision-making process for participation in the market. To facilitate this, a multi-objective stochastic optimization model is presented that incorporates results from the discrete choice experiment and real smart-meter measurements. The case study results demonstrate user preferences’ influence on market outcomes.</p

optimizing the operation of energy storage using a non linear lithium ion battery degradation model

Abstract Given their technological and market maturity, lithium-ion batteries are increasingly being considered and used in grid applications to provide a host of services such as frequency regulation, peak shaving, etc. Charging and discharging these batteries causes degradation in their performance. Lack of data on degradation processes combined with requirement of fast computation have led to over-simplified models of battery degradation. In this work, the recent experimental evidence that demonstrates that degradation in lithium-ion batteries is non-linearly dependent on the operating conditions is incorporated. Experimental aging data of a commercial battery have been used to develop a scheduling model applicable to the time constraints of a market model. A decomposition technique that enables the developed model to give near-optimal results for longer time horizons is also proposed

Flexibility Aggregation of Temporally Coupled Resources in Real Time Balancing Markets Using Machine Learning

In modern power systems with high penetration of renewable energy sources, the flexibility provided by distributed energy resources is becoming invaluable. Demand aggregators offer balancing energy in the real-time balancing market on behalf of flexible resources. A challenging task is the design of the offering strategy of an aggregator. In particular, it is difficult to capture the flexibility cost of a portfolio of flexibility assets within a price-quantity offer, since the costs and constraints of flexibility resources exhibit inter-temporal dependencies. In this article, we propose a generic method for constructing aggregated balancing energy offers that best represent the portfolio's actual flexibility costs, while accounting for uncertainty in future timeslots. For the case study presented, we use offline simulations to train and compare different machine learning (ML) algorithms that receive the information about the state of the flexible resources and calculate the aggregator's offer. Once trained, the ML algorithms can make fast decisions about the portfolio's balancing energy offer in the real-time balancing market. Our simulations show that the proposed method performs reliably towards capturing the flexibility of the Aggregator's portfolio and minimizing the aggregator's imbalances.</p

Hybrid quantum-classical multi-cut Benders approach with a power system application

Leveraging the current generation of quantum devices to solve optimization problems of practical interest necessitates the development of hybrid quantum-classical (HQC) solution approaches. In this paper, a multi-cut Benders decomposition (BD) approach that exploits multiple feasible solutions of the master problem (MP) to generate multiple valid cuts is adapted, so as to be used as an HQC solver for general mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problems. The use of different cut selection criteria and strategies to manage the size of the MP by eliciting a subset of cuts to be added in each iteration of the BD scheme using quantum computing is discussed. The HQC optimization algorithm is applied to the Unit Commitment (UC) problem. UC is a prototypical use case of optimization applied to electrical power systems, a critical sector that may benefit from advances in quantum computing. The proposed approach is demonstrated using the D-Wave Advantage 4.1 quantum annealer

Hybrid Quantum-Classical Multi-cut Benders Approach with a Power System Application

Leveraging the current generation of quantum devices to solve optimization problems of practical interest necessitates the development of hybrid quantum-classical (HQC) solution approaches. In this paper, a multi-cut Benders decomposition (BD) approach that exploits multiple feasible solutions of the master problem (MP) to generate multiple valid cuts is adapted, so as to be used as an HQC solver for general mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problems. The use of different cut selection criteria and strategies to manage the size of the MP by eliciting a subset of cuts to be added in each iteration of the BD scheme using quantum computing is discussed. The HQC optimization algorithm is applied to the Unit Commitment (UC) problem. UC is a prototypical use case of optimization applied to electrical power systems, a critical sector that may benefit from advances in quantum computing. The validity and computational viability of the proposed approach are demonstrated using the D-Wave Advantage 4.1 quantum annealer

Economic viability of smart charging EVs in the Dutch ancillary service markets

Smart charging of electric vehicles (EVs) could potentially facilitate easing network imbalance and grid over-loading issues that are expected to emerge due to the increase in sustainable energy alternatives in the near future. It has been shown that smart charging is technically possible, however, if there are no positive business cases, it is unlikely to succeed. One of the possible business cases is supplying energy in ancillary services markets. This paper investigates this business case for the Dutch ancillary service markets by determining the investment and operational costs of smart charging a pool of EVs and creating a market participation model that combines EV charging data with market data to calculate the potential profit

Exploratory visual analytics for the European single intra-day coupled electricity market

European single intra-day coupled electricity market (SIDC) trading activity has increased substantially in recent years mainly as a consequence of the increasing penetration of renewable energy production and its subsequent impact on imbalance market prices. Nonetheless, more research is needed to understand this growing market. This paper presents exploratory visual analytics tools for tradable contracts of the SIDC. The main visualisations are created from order and trade books and intended to increase our domain knowledge of the SIDC by monitoring market trends, behaviours, depth, price consensus and liquidity. Furthermore, previous contracts of SIDC volumes and balancing prices are visualised to identify trading opportunities and risks. We expect that the presented visual analytics will be useful for both practitioners and researchers seeking quick and easily implementable tools for acquiring additional market insights and developing manual or automated trading strategies

Transactive Energy for Flexible Prosumers Using Algorithmic Game Theory

In modern smart grids, the focus is increasingly shifted towards distributed energy resources and flexible electricity assets owned by prosumers. A system with high penetration of flexible prosumers, has a very large number of variables and constraints, while a lot of the information is local and non-observable. Decomposition methods and local problem solving is considered a promising approach for such settings, particularly when the implementation of a decomposition method features a market-based analogy, i.e. it can be implemented in a Transactive Energy fashion. In this paper we present an auction-theoretic scheme for a setting with non-convex prosumer models and resource constraints. The scheme is evaluated on a particular case study and its scalability and efficiency properties are tested and compared to an optimal benchmark solution. A game-theoretic analysis is made with respect to how an intelligent agent, that bids on behalf of a prosumer can try to strategize within the auction, in order to make itself better-off. Our simulations show that there is an alignment of incentives, i.e., when the prosumers try to strategize, they actually improve the auction's efficiency

Statistical arbitrage trading across electricity markets using advantage actor–critic methods

In this paper, risk-constrained arbitrage trading strategies that exploit price differences arising across short-term electricity markets, namely day-ahead (DAM), continuous intraday (CID) and balancing (BAL) markets, are developed and evaluated. To open initial DAM positions, a rule-based trading policy using DAM and CID price forecasts is proposed. DAM prices are predicted using both technical indicator features and data augmentation methods, such as autoencoders and generative adversarial networks. Meanwhile, CID prices are predicted using novel features that are engineered from the limit order book. Using the forecasts, the direction of price movements is correctly predicted the majority of the time. To manage open DAM positions while optimising the risk-reward ratio, deep reinforcement learning agents trained using the advantage actor–critic algorithm (A2C) are employed. Evaluated across Dutch short-term markets, A2C yields profits surpassing those obtained using A3C and other benchmarks. We expect our study to benefit electricity traders and researchers who seek to develop state-of-art intelligent trading strategies