Grid-Aware Aggregation and Realtime Disaggregation of Distributed Energy Resources in Radial Networks

Dispatching a fleet of distributed energy resources (DERs) in response to wholesale energy market or regional grid signals requires solving a challenging disaggregation problem when the DERs are coupled within a distribution network. This manuscript presents a computationally tractable convex inner approximation for the optimal power flow (OPF) problem that quantifies a feeder’s aggregate DERs hosting capacity and enables a realtime, grid-aware control policy for DERs in radial distribution networks. The inner approximation is derived by considering convex envelopes on the nonlinear terms in the AC power flow equations. The resulting convex formulation is then used to derive provable nodal injection limits, such that any combination of DER dispatches within their respective nodal limits is guaranteed to be AC admissible. These nodal injection limits are then used to construct a realtime, open-loop control policy for dispatching DERs at each location in the network to deliver fast grid services in aggregate. The IEEE-37 distribution network is used to validate the technical results and illustrate use cases.