Method for the operation planning of virtual power plants considering forecasting errors of distributed energy resources

The increasing decentralization of the power supply poses new challenges to the market integration of renewable energies. One concept for the market integration of distributed energy resources (DER) is the virtual power plant (VPP). A VPP aggregates a portfolio of smaller DERs and operates them as a unified and flexible resource on the energy and balancing power markets. The operation planning of the market participation is, however, characterized by uncertainties, mainly due to the forecasting errors of renewable energy resources. Thus, this paper presents a model for the multi-market operation planning plan of a VPP with regard to the forecasting errors of the associated DERs. The spot- and intraday markets and the balancing power markets are modeled individually to ensure a valid market participation of the VPP. The forecasting errors are integrated in the planning process through a two-stage stochastic optimization. Exemplary results show the impact of controllable DERs in the planning process of a VPP consisting of a storage system and several PV power plants.