Distributed Measurement-Based Optimal DER Dispatch With Estimated Sensitivity Models

This paper presents a distributed measurement-based method to determine distributed energy resource (DER) active- and reactive-power setpoints that minimize bus voltage deviations from prescribed references, bus active- and reactive-power deviations from desired values, as well as cost of DER outputs. The proposed method partitions the system into multiple areas and performs per-area computations in parallel, thus mitigating scalability concerns of centralized implementations. A linear sensitivity model for each area is first estimated from measurements via the recursive weighted partial least-squares algorithm. The estimated sensitivity models are then embedded in an optimization problem, the structure of which is amenable to decomposition into per-area subproblems. The subproblems are solved in parallel using consensus-based alternating direction method of multipliers to obtain optimal DER setpoints. Both the estimation and optimization tasks require only the exchange of information at boundary buses among adjacent areas. Numerical simulations involving the IEEE 33-bus distribution test system illustrate the ability of the proposed method to determine optimal DER setpoints that adapt to operating-point changes in a distributed fashion. Additional numerical simulations involving the IEEE 123-bus system demonstrate computational scalability and the application to multi-phase systems in a practical scenario.