Unbalanced power, due to high penetration of single-phase PV rooftops into a four-wire multi-grounded LV distribution system, can result in significant rise in the neutral current and neutral voltage. This preprint proposes a distributed clustering algorithm for dynamic power balancing, using single-phase battery storage systems distributed in the LV distribution system, in order to reduce the neutral current and neutral voltage rise. The distributed clustering algorithm aggregates households connected to the same phase into clusters. Within each cluster, another distributed clustering algorithm is applied to calculate the total grid power exchanged but the corresponding phase. Then, the dynamic power balancing control is applied to balance the powers at the bus, based on battery storage systems' charge/discharge constraints, power minimization and willingness of the households to participate in the power balancing control.
The connection of single-phase microgrids (MG) and loads to three-phase MGs creates power quality problems such as unbalanced voltage and voltage rise at the point of common coupling (PCC) of the MGs. In this paper, a modified reverse droop control (MRDC) scheme in the Energy Storage System (ESS) is proposed to improve the three-phase PCC voltage quality in multi-microgrids (MMG). The MRDC consists of a reactive power compensator (RPC) and a voltage compensator. The controller regulates the reactive power and voltage unbalance of the MMG by using the reactive power produced by the ESS. The eff…
The integration of single-phase distributed generations (DG) and unbalanced loads to three-phase DGs brings challenges to the operating system of the microgrids (MGs). These challenges include unbalanced voltage and unequal power flow at the point of common coupling (PCC) of the MGs. The aim of this paper is to develop an Energy Storage System (ESS) with multi-function control for islanded multi-microgrids (MMG) consisting of single and three PV-DGs to enhance its power quality and power-sharing of the MMGs. The proposed multi-function control consists of a reactive power compensation (RPC), a…
This paper presents a convex, multi-period, AC-feasible Optimal Power Flow (OPF) framework that robustly dispatches flexible demand-side resources in unbalanced distribution feeders against uncertainty in very-short timescale solar Photo-Voltaic (PV) forecasts. This is valuable for power systems with significant behind-the-meter solar PV generation as their operation is affected by uncertainty from forecasts of demand and solar PV generation. The aim of this work is then to ensure the feasibility and reliability of distribution system operation under high solar PV penetration. We develop and p…
In this work, we investigate grid-forming control for power systems containing three-phase and single-phase converters connected to unbalanced distribution and transmission networks, investigate self-balancing between single-phase converters, and propose a novel balancing feedback for grid-forming control that explicitly allows to trade-off unbalances in voltage and power. We develop a quasi-steady-state power network model that allows to analyze the interactions between three-phase and single-phase power converters across transmission, distribution, and standard transformer interconnections. …
Planned Communities (PCs) present a unique opportunity for deployment of intelligent control of demand-side distributed energy resources (DER) and storage, which may be organized in Microgrids (MGs). MGs require balancing for maintaining safe and resilient operation. This paper discusses the implications of using MG concepts for planning and control of energy systems within PCs. A novel tool is presented, based on decision trees (DT), with two potential applications: (i) planning of energy storage systems within such MGs and (ii) controlling energy resources for energy balancing within a PC MG…
The paper addresses an improved inner current reference calculation to be employed in the control of modular multilevel converters operating during either balanced or unbalanced conditions. The suggested reference calculation is derived based on the AC and DC additive and differential voltage components applied to the upper and lower arms of the converter. In addition, the impacts caused not only by the AC network's impedances but also by the MMC's arm impedances are also considered during the derivation of the AC additive current reference expressions. Another issue discussed in this article …
The rapid development of renewable energy has increased the peak to valley difference of the netload, making the netload following being a new challenge to the power system. Electric boiler with thermal storage (EBTS) occupies a non-negligible part of the load in the winter season in Northern China. EBTS operation optimization can not only save its own energy cost but also reduce the peak shaving and valley filling pressure of the system. To this end, the operation optimization of EBTS for providing the power balancing service is studied in this paper, which mainly includes three parts: First,…
Ad-hoc growth of single-phase-connected distributed energy resources, such as solar generation and electric vehicles, can lead to network unbalance with negative consequences on the quality and efficiency of electricity supply. Case-studies are presented for a substation in Madeira, Portugal and an EV charging facility in Pasadena, California. These case studies show that phase imbalance can happen due to a large amount of distributed generation (DG) and electric vehicle (EV) integration. We conducted stylized load-flow analysis on a radial distribution network using an openDSS-based simulator…
This paper presents a novel grid-forming voltage control strategy for a battery energy storage system to maintain balanced three-phase output voltages when serving unbalanced loads. A stationary reference frame ($αβ$) based control scheme is proposed to regulate positive-sequence and negative-sequence voltages. Compared with the conventional rotating reference frame ($dq$) based control scheme, the proposed scheme shows better dynamic performance. Then, we analyze the system zero-sequence network and propose adding a grounding transformer to the Y/Yg connected output transformer to further red…
We study a smart grid with wind power and battery storage. Traditionally, day-ahead planning aims to balance demand and wind power, yet actual wind conditions often deviate from forecasts. Short-term flexibility in storage and generation fills potential gaps, planned on a minutes time scale for 30-60 minute horizons. Finding the optimal flexibility deployment requires solving a semi-infinite non-convex stochastic program, which is generally intractable to do exactly. Previous approaches rely on sampling, yet such critical problems call for rigorous approaches with stronger guarantees. Our meth…
This paper studies the state-of-charge (SoC) balancing and the total charging/discharging power tracking issues for battery energy storage systems (BESSs) with multiple distributed heterogeneous battery units. Different from the traditional cooperative control strategies based on the asymptotical or finite-time distributed observers, two distributed prespecified-time observers are proposed to estimate average battery units state and average desired power, respectively, which can be determined in advance and independent of initial states or control parameters. Finally, two simulation examples a…
Distributed rooftop photovoltaics (PV) is one of the pillars of the energy transition. However, the massive integration of distributed PV systems challenges the existing grid, with high amounts of PV injection possibly leading to over-voltage and reverse power flow, with line and transformer overloading, among other issues. Moreover, the increase in PV self-consumption and consequently the reduction of imported electricity poses a problem in recovering Transmission System Operators (TSOs) and Distribution System Operators (DSOs) grid costs, that until now have been directly linked to the amoun…
This paper studies the distributed dual objective control problem of a heterogenous flywheel energy storage matrix system aiming at simultaneous reference power track-ing and state-of-energy balancing. We first prove that the solution to this problem exists by showing the existence of a common state-of-energy trajectory for all the flywheel systems on which the dual control objectives can be achieved simultaneously. Next, based on this common state-of-energy trajectory, the distributed dual objective control problem is converted into a double layer distributed tracking problem, which is then s…
Cascaded H-bridge and modular multilevel converters (MMC) are on the rise with emerging applications in renewable energy generation, energy storage, and electric motor drives. However, their well-known advantages come at the price of complicated balancing, high-bandwidth isolated monitoring, and numerous sensors that can prevent MMCs from expanding into highly cost driven markets. Therefore, an obvious trend in research is developing control and topologies that depend less on measurements and benefit from simpler control. Diode-clamped topologies are considered among the more applicable soluti…
This paper proposes a simple and flexible storage model for use in a variety of multi-period optimal power flow problems. The proposed model is designed for research use in a broad assortment of contexts enabled by the following key features: (i) the model can represent the dynamics of an energy buffer at a wide range of scales, from residential battery storage to grid-scale pumped hydro; (ii) it is compatible with both balanced and unbalanced formulations of the power flow equations; (iii) convex relaxations and linear approximations to allow seamless integration of the proposed model into ap…
Non-generating resources such as thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) can arbitrage energy prices and provide balancing reserves when aggregated due to their thermal energy storage capacity. Based on a performed survey of Swedish single- and two-family dwellings with electric heating, this paper quantifies the potential of TCLs to provide reserves to the power system in Sweden. To this end, dwellings with heat pumps and direct electric heaters are modeled as thermal energy storage equivalents that can be included in a linear two-stage problem formulation. We approach the operational flexib…
This paper presents a novel modular, reconfigurable battery energy storage system. The proposed design is characterized by a tight integration of reconfigurable power switches and DC/DC converters. This characteristic enables isolation of faulty cells from the system and allows fine power control for individual cells toward optimal system-level performance. An optimal power management approach is developed to extensively exploit the merits of the proposed design. Based on receding-horizon convex optimization, this approach aims to minimize the total power losses in charging/discharging while a…
This paper proposes an original energy management methodology for enhancing the resilience of ship power systems considering multiple types of energy storage systems, including battery energy storage systems (BESS) and supercapacitor energy storage systems (SCESS). The primary function of the proposed EMS is to maximize the load operability while taking ramp-rate characteristics of energy storage systems (ESS) and generators into account innovatively. Balancing state-of-charge (SoC) of BESS and prioritizing the SoC level of SCESS are two additional objectives of the proposed EMS to manage ener…
This paper develops an improved distributed finite-time control algorithm for multiagent-based ac microgrids with battery energy storage systems (BESSs) utilizing a low-width communication network. The proposed control algorithm can simultaneously coordinate BESSs to eliminate any deviation from the nominal frequency as well as solving the state of charge (SoC) balancing problem. The stability of the proposed control algorithm is established using the Lyapunov method and homogeneous approximation theory, which guarantees an accelerated convergence within a settling time that does not dependent…
Effects of charging and discharging capabilities on trade-offs between model accuracy and computational efficiency in pumped thermal electricity storage
In this work we introduce PowerModelsDistribution, a free, open-source toolkit for distribution power network optimization, whose primary focus is establishing a baseline implementation of steady-state multi-conductor unbalanced distribution network optimization problems, which includes implementations of Power Flow and Optimal Power Flow problem types. Currently implemented power flow formulations for these problem types include AC (polar and rectangular), a second-order conic relaxation of the Branch Flow Model (BFM) and Bus Injection Model (BIM), a semi-definite relaxation of BFM, and sever…
