Ramping-aware Enhanced Flexibility Aggregation of Distributed Generation with Energy Storage in Power Distribution Networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces a ramping-aware flexibility aggregation method for distributed energy resources in power networks, improving flexibility and ensuring disaggregability by considering ramp constraints and proactive pre-ramping strategies.

Contribution

It presents a novel ramping-aware aggregation scheme with a pre-ramping strategy that enhances flexibility envelopes while guaranteeing disaggregability, validated on IEEE-33 bus system.

Findings

Flexibility improved by 5.2% to 19.2% over baseline.

Explicitly accounts for DER ramp constraints.

Provides formal proofs of disaggregability.

Abstract

Power distribution networks are increasingly hosting controllable and flexible distributed energy resources (DERs) that, when aggregated, can provide ancillary support to transmission systems. However, existing aggregation schemes often ignore the ramping constraints of these DERs, which can render them impractical in real deployments. This work proposes a ramping-aware flexibility aggregation scheme, computed at the transmission-distribution boundary, that explicitly accounts for DER ramp limits and yields flexibility envelopes that are provably disaggregable. To further enhance the attainable flexibility region, we introduce a novel pre-ramping strategy, which proactively adjusts resource operating points to enlarge the aggregated flexibility envelope while preserving both network feasibility and disaggregation guarantees. The proposed method demonstrates a 5.2% to 19.2% improvement in flexibility relative to the baseline model, depending on system conditions. We validate the scheme on an IEEE-33 bus distribution system and provide formal proofs showing that both aggregation strategies are disaggregable for all feasible trajectories within the aggregate flexibility envelope.