An Approach to Procure Energy and Reserve from Distributed Generation Integrated in a Small Distribution System

Recent climate change has changed the perspective of the way power is generated. The use of fossil fuels is reduced and replaced with renewable energy technologies. Renewable generation is supported by the government; however, it brings issues to the existing power system due to its intermittency. Requires hybrid and energy storage technologies to overcome it. To increase the integration of renewable technologies, using them as distributed generation (DGs) in local grids is a very good initiative. This will not only generate cleaner, greener energy but also contribute to cost reductions in conventional generation capacity addition and defer transmission infrastructure costs. The hybrid DGs can be used to provide ancillary services like voltage support providing operating reserves. In this work, the cost of procuring energy and reserve by the distribution system operator (DSO) is minimized using the optimal power flow technique (OPF) in a small distribution system solved in MATPOWER 7.1. The distribution system considered is a modified 15-bus system with loads in 14 buses and DGs in 7 buses and having a substation. Four cases have been considered, two of which show the monopoly in the reserve market, and the other two show a reduction in emission in the distribution system and how the integration of renewable-based hybrid generation can contribute reduction in procuring energy from the substation, leading to cost minimization of distribution infrastructure.