In the following, we proudly present you our last EASY-RES Status Report. Find here in detail the advances and achievements of our eight work packages (WPs) during the last six months.

WP1 – Quasi Steady-State Operation

All the new voltage-regulation algorithms for Low Voltage and Medium Voltage distribution networks (DN) together with the specifications for the required ICT system to support the optimisation of the regulation have been finalized and successfully tested in the reduced scale CIRGE benchmark grids in the University of Seville. The developed methodologies enable the regulation of the voltage using only the reactive power capability of the distributed resources (DRES) – avoiding any active power curtailment – despite the increase in their penetration in the distribution grid. In this way the DSO can allow DRES penetration up to the physical limits of the DN without needing additional investments.

We have finalized and lab tested the new methodologies with which the DRES become more grid friendly by controlling and limiting the rate of change of the active power they feed into the grid. In this way the volatility of the active power from DRES can be limited leading eventually to reduced requirements for conventional power reserves. Parts are published here which was selected to be among the best 10 percent of the SEST conference papers.

The successful testing together with the already developed metrics for the measurement and quantification enable the exchange of reactive power and the limitation of the rate of change of the active power to be considered as tradable Ancillary Services that can be offered to the DN or to the upstream transmission system.

WP1 Leader: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
WP1 Contact: Charis Demoulias (chdimoul@auth.gr)

WP2 – Development of DRES/BESS Converter Functionalities for Dynamic and Transient Response

WP2 developed a software for optimally providing inertia and frequency response. While considering the requirements of an Integrated Control Area (ICA) and of the TSO, the algorithm can distribute the work among several generators of renewables to avoid blackout in the power system. Most of the controllers developed in WP2 are validated in the experimental setup.

WP2 Leader: Universidad de Sevilla
WP2 Contact: Juan Mauricio (jmmauricio@us.es)

WP3 – Protection Coordination

WP3 finalized the methodology for the reaction of distributed resources (DRES) during faults in DNs. With this methodology the DRES are made smart enough to detect the location of a fault (e.g. short-circuit) and decide, on their own, whether they should react by contributing with controllable currents, how much they should react, or simply stay connected without any contribution. The methodology is applicable to radial medium and low voltage DNs and addresses symmetrical and non-symmetrical faults also considering the cases where the DRES are connected to the grid via a transformer or not. With the proposed methodology, faults can be cleared equally well with the legacy protection means currently employed by the DSOs despite a possible very large DRES penetration in the DNs. Obviously, the methodology and the developed control methods of the DRES, specify now a new tradable ancillary service since investments on upgrading the protection systems can be deferred.

WP3 Leader: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
WP3 Contact: Charis Demoulias (chdimoul@auth.gr)

WP4 – ICT infrastructure for ICAs & µGs

Deliverable D4.5 “Report and Implementation of Accounting, Voltage Regulation and Optimization Algorithms” was submitted. This deliverable describes the various components and services within the ICT architecture developed within the EASY-RES project to facilitate and support the provision of Ancillary Services (AS) by the different types of energy resources connected to the distribution power grid.

One of the key technologies used in our architecture is virtualization, to allow dynamic creation and reservation of diverse power and ICT resources necessary for specific ASs. The goal is to integrate the diverse components, including conventional and renewable-based power generation, controllable load, communication and computation technologies together with market and regulatory conditions into a single entity, called a dynamic Virtual Power Plant (dVPP) so that supply of power and ASs can be reliably automated.  A dVPP can be viewed as the combination of power and ICT resources. This combination results in a complex system of systems with a huge number of diverse elements and dynamically established connections.

To deal with the complexity, it is very important that the overall system is properly organized. In EASY-RES, a layered architecture design is followed, in which the different components are organized in different layers with appropriate abstraction levels. In this way, low-level technical details can be hidden from higher-level business and decision-making operations. To allow communication between layers, each layer should offer an interface specifying the services and functions that can be called while hiding the lower-level implementation details. In this regard, the Web of Things (WoT) framework is adopted. It provides a flexible mechanism to structure the interfaces between the different components of the overall ICT architecture. The second technique for mastering complexity is achieved by applying the separation-of-concerns principle and considering the system from different viewpoints (typically: business, functional, information, communications, etc.). 

Finally, the deliverable demonstrates the viability and practicality of the proposed ICT architecture and its support to the control and optimization algorithms through a prototypical implementation of a virtual power plant slice, giving a detailed description of the ICT testbed that has been established.

The crew around Prof. Hermann de Meer of Universität Passau was also in the spotlight of German public television show called ‘NANO’. You can view the episode in German here: https://www.easyres-project.eu/zdf-in-passau/

WP4 Leader: Universität Passau
WP4 Contact: Hermann de Meer (hermann.deMeer@uni-passau.de)

WP5 – Cost analysis, new market opportunities & development of AS-based business models

To advance the development of business models, Deliverable D5.5 has been released in November, concluding the work in Task T5.3. D5.5, the final report on the cost functions for the new AS, tries to organize the information available for the development of business models, mainly the costs to provide the EASY-RES Ancillary Services (AS), as well as information required for the business models such as the problems associated with the measurement and quantification of the AS. Based on these outcomes, quantified business models will be developed for each identified stakeholder or chain of stakeholders, and for each identified revenue stream (Task T5.5).  After reviewing the current market regulations (particularly the AS market), any obstacles for the introduction of the new AS will be identified, and appropriate modifications will be suggested in Task T5.1.

WP5 Leader: Universidad de Sevilla
WP5 Contact: Jose Luis Martinez Ramos (jl.martinez.ramos@gmail.com)

WP6 – Validation & Evaluation

In the past several months we have worked further on the validation of controller functionalities in the system setting. The validation is performed in the laboratory of the University of Seville, by integrating three EASY-RES prototypes and their local and centralized controllers in the scaled down version of the real (CIGRE) distribution grids. The testing is going as planned and our controller shows satisfying performance. We are also making progress on the evaluation of project KPIs. We completed the evaluation of KPIs 1 and 3 related to reactive power and system inertia, showing satisfying performance in these two respects. Finally, having identified the relevant barriers and obstacles, we are going to suggest modifications in existing grids codes so that the advanced functionalities of the EASY-RES can be implemented.  

WP6 Leader: TU Delft
WP6 Contact: Milos Cvetkovic (m.cvetkovic@tudelft.nl)

WP7 – Dissemination & Exploitation

WP7 successfully organized the EASY-RES Summer School from 20^th to 24^th September.  Based on a script from EASY-RES Coodinator Charis, we developed the fantastic EASY-RES Explanation Video which is presenting the EASY-RES prototype inverter and the associated Ancillary Services in a vivid and entertaining way. WP7 also organized and managed the EASY-RES final dissemination event as Joint Workshop with contributions from fellow H2020 projects ATTEST, INTERPRETER, MAESHA and TALENT. EASY-RES Advisory Board Member Vasiliki Klonari presented the perspectives of the wind industry and Dimitrios Fourlaris, the Vice President of the Regulatory Authority for Energy, described the regulatory framework. You can view the Graphic Recording here.

WP7 Leader: Bayern Innovativ
WP7 Contact: Andrea Deisenrieder, Maximilian Irlbeck (info@easyres-project.eu)

WP8 – Project Management & Coordination

EASY-RES is close to its ending. Some of the risks, with respect to our research work, that we initially anticipated, materialized during the project course. The excellent cooperation among all partners helped mitigate all risks and allows us to consider EASY-RES as a very successful project.   

WP8 Leader: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
WP8 Contact: Charis Demoulias (chdimoul@auth.gr)