An Approach for Scheduling and Unlocking Heterogeneous Distributed Energy Resources as Operating Reserve Assets

This study introduces a new paradigm for day-ahead flexibility scheduling (DFS) aimed at unlocking the potential of distributed energy resources to enhance operational security in regions with high penetration of intermittent renewables and fluctuating load demands and supports system operators by providing operating reserves through a regional flexibility resources scheduling framework. It incorporates a next-day uncertainty model (NUM) to account for various operational uncertainties and assess flexibility costs. The DFS framework includes optimal day-ahead flexibility scheduling for maintaining regional grid security (DFS-RGS) and providing reserve ancillary services (DFS-RAS). To improve scalability for practical deployment, the NUM utilizes scenario condensation and constraint linearization techniques. Simulation results demonstrate that dispatches from DFS-RGS and DFS-RAS are robust and economically efficient, ensuring secure system operations while aggregating additional power reserves in active distribution networks.