A Decision Support System for the Strategic Operation of Virtual Power Plants in Electricity Markets

The paradigm of Virtual Power Plants, together with Smart Grids, can unleash the full potential of distributed energy resources, by introducing flexibility to power systems and by managing the increasing uncertainty and unreliability associated to them. The aggregation obtained through a Virtual Power Plant would not only benefit energy producers and users, maximizing their revenues, but it would also reduce the complexity of modern power systems, simplifying the balancing process carried out by Transmission System Operators.