Sustainable Integration of Distributed Energy Resources in Distribution Systems

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The proposed research addresses a major obstacle to a large-scale integration of distributed energy resources that have transformative impacts on the distribution systems and the overall energy economics of this century. The goal is to develops system and control theoretic approaches, economic analysis, and data analytical tools for the sustainable integration of distributed energy resources (DER) such as behind-the-meter solar, distributed storage, and demand response in distribution systems. The focus is on the dynamics of DER adoption as results of engineering innovation and market interactions among regulated utilities, emerging energy service providers, community DER, and prosumers. Using nonlinear system theory, optimal control, and machine learning tools, the proposed research aims to characterize the stability of DER adoption, the potential of death spiral induced by the endogenous positive feedback, the impacts of policy prescriptions such as net-metering and tax incentives, and economic implications on equity and fairness. Complementing the theoretic analysis are empirical studies of prevailing pricing mechanisms and new tariff proposals. To this end, this research has a significant component in developing data analytic and machine tools for extracting models from online data. This research addresses an emerging problem in DER adoption in distribution system. The proposed Research has potential to contribute a fundamental understanding of the interactions among consumers, regulated utilities, and service providers. The research will provide a set of novel system and control theoretic tools in analyzing different DER integration models, market designs, and policy prescriptions. The proposed research advances the state of the art theory and practices and helps to unleash the full potential of distributed energy resources through an innovative, economically viable, and operationally secure pathway to a new paradigm of power distribution. The multidisciplinary nature of this research provides rich experiences for undergraduate and graduate students and enriches curriculum developments in a critical area engineering education.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.