Quantifying the impact of flexibility asset location on services in the distribution grid: Power system and local flexibility market co-simulation

This research investigates the effectiveness of incorporating locational sensitivity factors into local flexibility market clearing mechanisms for effective congestion management and voltage regulation in distribution grids. A centralized local flexibility market optimization model is developed that considers technical and economic constraints. The study aims to explore the requirements for data availability, data quality, and reliable data exchange that can facilitate a broader range of flexibility services, thereby promoting the development of a local flexibility market. Sensitivity factors, including power transfer distribution factors, voltage sensitivity coefficients and transformer sensitivity coefficients, are used to quantify the impact of flexibility asset locations on congestion management and inform clearing rules. These static metrics are insufficient for establishing effective local flexibility market clearing rules when flexibility is procured by distribution system operators. The approach considers the state of the grid when calculating the sensitivity coefficients, which leads to a more accurate evaluation of flexibility bids, especially with regard to the impact of location on congestion management. The proposed mechanism for clearing the local flexibility market assumes continuous communication between the proposed local flexibility market operator and the distribution system operator for dynamic, iterative market clearing, which ensures the protection of grid data and a more accurate bid evaluation. The study demonstrates that the inclusion of locational information significantly increases the effectiveness of the proposed local flexibility market-based congestion management. The developed simulator for the proposed local flexibility market provides valuable insights into the interaction between the proposed local flexibility market and the distribution grid. The research results, derived from selected use cases, emphasize the importance of location-based sensitivity factors in the proposed local flexibility market clearing for distribution grids. The proposed approach offers a promising solution for optimizing congestion management and voltage regulation while ensuring efficient integration of distributed energy resources into distribution grids.