In this article, a distributed optimization problem for minimizing a sum, n i=1 f i , of convex objective functions, f i , is addressed. Here each function f i is a function of n variables, private to agent i which defines the agent's objective. Agents can only communicate locally with neighbors defined by a communication network topology. These f i 's are assumed to be Lipschitz-differentiable convex functions. For solving this optimization problem, we develop a novel distributed algorithm, which we term as the gradient-consensus method. The gradient-consensus scheme uses a finite-time terminated consensus protocol called ρ-consensus, which allows each local estimate to be ρ-close to each other at every iteration. The parameter ρ is a fixed constant which can be determined independently of the network size or topology. It is shown that the estimate of the optimal solution at any local agent i converges geometrically to the optimal solution within O(ρ) where ρ can be chosen to be arbitrarily small.

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Greater penetration of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in power networks requires coordination strategies that allow for self-adjustment of contributions in a network of DERs, owing to variability in generation and demand. In this article, a distributed scheme is proposed that enables a DER in a network to arrive at viable power reference commands that satisfies the DERs local constraints on its generation and loads it has to service, while, the aggregated behavior of multiple DERs in the network and their respective loads meet the ancillary services demanded by the grid. The Net-load Management system for a single unit is referred to as the Local Inverter System (LIS) in this article . A distinguishing feature of the proposed consensus based solution is the distributed finite time termination of the algorithm that allows each LIS unit in the network to determine power reference commands in the presence of communication delays in a distributed manner. The proposed scheme allows prioritization of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) in the network and also enables auto-adjustment of contributions from LIS units with lower priority resources (non-RES). The methods are validated using hardware-in-the-loop simulations with Raspberry PI devices as distributed control units, implementing the proposed distributed algorithm and responsible for determining and dispatching realtime power reference commands to simulated power electronics interface emulating LIS units for demand response.

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