Challenges in effectively managing energy resources, infrastructures and conversion technologies - Modelling Distributed Energy Resources in Energy Service Networks - page 11

As the table shows, smart-grid installations in transmission and distribution
networks require the incorporation of a broad range of hardware and software capa-
bilities. It is clear technologies will not only be installed in the networks themselves,
but also have to be extended to dwellings and DERs linking all parties; modelling
and analysing these interactions is the core topic of this topic.
In order to develop complex energy analytical tools, some questions need to be
addressed, these answers will help build the path to effectively model DERs in energy
service networks. Thus, the following research questions are worth exploring:
● What previous approaches have been proposed in developing integrated models
of energy infrastructures?
● What similarities and differences exist in modelling natural gas and electrical
load flow problems?
● What principles allow us to incorporate control devices into gas and electricity
infrastructures for load flow analysis?
● What are the core elements needed to portray CHP and PHEV technologies in
energy networks?
● What approach and considerations should be followed when modelling thermal
and electro-chemical storage capabilities in load flow problems?
● What framework is suitable to formulate an integrated TCOPF of natural gas and
electrical networks?
● What methodology can power engineers employ to include the 'mobility' features
of electric vehicles into load flow analysis?
Once the novel framework for modelling DER interaction with infrastructures
has been developed, case studies should be carried out to showcase the operating
flexibility of urban energy systems. Each case study can deviate in its parameters
and assumptions, but most importantly the objective function of the TCOPF should
be formulated to represent the prerogative of the energy service provider; some
examples are:
● Plug and forget : Consists of depicting a passive management of the local
networks;
● Fuel cost minimisation : Covers the economic dispatch of DERs so that total fuel
cost in the urban energy system is curtailed;
● Loss minimisation : Focuses on reducing the power losses incurred in the net-
works by dispatching the embedded technologies and control devices whenever
necessary;
● Energy cost minimisation : Approaches the day-ahead natural gas and electricity
spot market prices to reduce the total costs incurred in the urban energy system;
an extension of this formulation could include the cost of carbon emissions.
Testing diverse objective functions allows the TCOPF to quantify and visualise
how energy flows will behave under coordinated operating scenarios. Some questions
relevant to stakeholders that can be answered through a holistic energy analysis are:

What load profiles variations can natural gas and electricity DNOs expect once
DERs are operated in coordination and penetration is meaningful?

●