Decentralised Integration of Renewable Energy sources through smart grid Technologies (DIRECT)

可再生能源(RESS)为提高可持续性带来了新的机遇，但也带来了更多的风险或故障，例如，英国2019年8月9日的大范围停电因意外跳闸和RESS断开而被夸大。因此，迫切需要开发更多创新和安全的技术来集成RESS。虚拟发电厂(VPP)就是这样一种很有潜力的技术。它将小型嵌入式发电(例如太阳能)聚合在一起，然后通过遵守电网规范作为传统发电厂运行(从输电系统的角度来看)。DIRECT项目旨在开发新的分散式VPP运行机制以提高系统安全性，并在配备了价值100万GB的实时数字仿真器(2个RTDS)和RE仿真器(风能/太阳能仿真器)的达勒姆智能电网实验室进行测试。重点将放在通过使用机器学习技术利用数据来协调RESS与能量存储。此外，还将利用区块链技术开发新的P2P能源交易和多向量能源系统机制。我们将利用这一专业知识来研究新的光伏技术对电网的影响，例如，考虑在低/漫反射条件下不同的光伏发电能力。需要回答的关键问题是，新的光伏技术将为未来的智能电网带来哪些机遇和挑战。

Renewable energy sources (RESs) open up new opportunities for improving sustainability, but they also introduce more risks or failures, e.g., widespread blackouts on 9th August 2019 in the UK were exaggerated by inadvertent tripping and disconnection of RESs. Hence it become urgent to develop more innovative and secure technologies for integrating RESs. Virtual Power Plant (VPP) is one of such potential technologies. It aggregates small embedded generation (e.g. solar), and then operates as a conventional power plant (from transmission system point of view) by complying with grid codes. DIRECT project aims to develop new decentralised VPP operation mechanisms for improving system security, and test them at Durham Smart Grid Laboratory that is equipped with £1m worth of real-time digital simulators (2 RTDSs) and RES emulators (wind/solar emulators). A particular focus will be placed on coordinating RESs with energy storage by exploiting data using machine learning techniques. Moreover, new p2p energy trading and multi-vector energy system mechanisms will be developed using Blockchain technologies. We will use this expertise to examine the impact of new PV technologies on the grid, for example, considering differing PV yield in low/diffuse light conditions. The key questions to answer will be what opportunities and challenges do new PV technologies present for future smart grids.