Abstract
In an effort to improve the stability and secure operation of the grid, regulatory bodies are opening Ancillary Services Markets participation to Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), energy storage systems, and demand response. Within this framework, this study proposes a model that simulates the coordinated operation of an aggregate of power plants, including non-dispatchable DERs and, as regulating units, Combined Heat and Power (CHP) generation and electrochemical energy storage systems. A Monte Carlo procedure is adopted to realistically create a population of aggregation scenarios. The real-time operation of the DER portfolio is managed through a Heuristic Greedy-Indexing logic, which allows the Aggregator to select the optimal control action to implement according to the technical and economic quantities characterizing the market and the grid. The techno-economic performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated by simulating its interaction with the electricity markets. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is performed to analyze the profitability in different scenarios. The novel mathematical model proposed showed to be effective in managing a complex problem like the one at hand with an acceptable computational effort. The numerical results obtained confirmed that the aggregated participation in the market could provide interesting economic returns, especially if a CHP unit is involved as regulating unit, while the feasibility of the batteries adoption is still limited by the actual cost of the technology.