Aggregated active and reactive power and energy management of distributed energy resources and performance evaluation

Aggregated management of distributed energy resources (DERs) is an emerging topic mainly with simulation based investigation of the developed approaches. On the other hand, field tests can provide important insights on the path to wide deployment. Most of the works take into account aggregated DERs as a single entity and do not get into details about how to allocate a desired management target among them. This study focuses on management of different types of DERs as a group to reach aggregation targets through two field-testing scenarios. Active power management scenario investigates management of a DER group for an hour long period by allocating an overall target proportional to DERs energy storage capacities. Varying PV panel, wind turbine and residential consumer power profiles were also included in the testing scenario as a challenge to determine set points for manageable devices. Reactive power management case equally distributes aggregation targets among available DERs, comparing relative management performances in 4 consecutive periods. Management performances of individual DERs and the whole group were evaluated, highlighting management accuracy and possible challenges in the field.