Assessing the Benefits of Coordinated Operation of Aggregated Distributed Multi-Energy Generation

Evolving planning concepts of future low carbon energy districts take into account multiple energy resources and vectors but, despite the comprehensive approach, they often miss out on capturing interactions between those vectors and do not exploit all the opportunities available by such approach. This paper presents a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) algorithm for modeling operational behavior of aggregated district multi-energy generation units. The resulting aggregated generation portfolio can be seen as a city-level Multi-Energy Virtual Power Plant (MEVPP). Case study results clearly demonstrate benefits of different multi-energy configurations and their interactions under various market conditions, by using an "aggregation benefit matrix" specifically introduced. The outcomes provide strategic indications to energy companies, local authorities, policy makers, etc. in the direction of developing low carbon Smart Cities.