Self-determined distribution of local energy resources for ensuring power supply during outages

Abstract

Ensuring access to reliable and sustainable power supply is becoming more and more challenging due to a combination of factors such as more frequent power grid outages caused by extreme weather events, the large-scale introduction of renewable energy resources that increases the complexity of the power system, but also aging infrastructure, supply and demand imbalance and power theft in some areas. Combined, all these factors can cause outages and together they can make electricity supply unreliable. The implications of this are many, ranging from minor inconveniences to major failures of critical infrastructures. A potential solution to ensure power supply during outages is to use local generation in the form of renewable resources to supply energy. This paper proposes a community-based mechanism that demonstrates that when community members can determine for themselves how excess energy generation is distributed, the power supply of specific members can be ensured. Self-determination is achieved by prioritizing and differentiating between community members as well as automatically and continuously redistributing energy, thereby adapting to sudden changes in supply and demand. Simulation results show that the proposed mechanism can be used to empower local communities to decide for themselves how local resources are distributed during events such as outages, ensuring prolonged power supply for differentiated members of affected communities. Harnessing the potential of renewable resources and smart technologies for intelligent coordination through empowerment of consumers to become pro-active participants is a promising solution for the future power systems.

Modelling End-User Behavior and Behavioral Change in Smart Grids. An Application of the Model of Frame Selection

“…230-231). However, recent studies have increasingly focused on the distribution of shared energy resources in local communities [36][37][38], which supports the above-mentioned assumption of energy as a common pool resource.…”

Forecast of area‐scale behaviours of behind‐the‐metre solar power and load based on smart‐metering net demand data

“…However, some prosumers generate more power than they consume, and surplus power produces a reverse power flow from the customer to the power grid, which causes widespread voltage surges in the power grid [1,2]. To efficiently utilise the power generated by DERs under the capacity constraints of the power grid, local self-sufficiency [3][4][5] of the power generated by the installed DERs in the city must be promoted. The idea of such a local energy selfsufficiency, whereby neighbouring communities consume the unstable power generated by DERs, is expected to be critical for maintaining a stable local power grid; for example, the discussion of the local flexibility market [6,7] is aimed at avoiding additional investments in power grids through local self-sufficiency.…”