Scheduling and Operation of Virtual Power Plants, Chapter 9 - Uncertainty modeling of renewable energy sources

A virtual power plant (VPP) is a virtual power grid that mixes several sorts of power sources to provide a reliable power supply. These sources are often a cluster of distributed generation systems with alternating renewable energies. Uncertainties are important topics in research and applications. Because of the gradual exhaustion of fossil energy resources and severe concern for environmental protection, renewable energy sources (RESs) are widely deployed in power networks. The emergence of RESs poses uncertainties, leading to stringent requirements for system modeling and operation practices. This chapter summarizes the state-of-the-art approaches, techniques, and challenges within the uncertainty modeling of RESs in a practical power grid. Supporting the uniform clearing of the electricity market, a centralized dispatch model of VPP is introduced to enhance the competitiveness of distributed energy resources within the electricity market. Probabilistic methods also emerge as a serious research direction for these studies. Accurate and effective modeling of RES uncertainty involves holistic improvement. A set of distributed generators (DGs), energy storage systems (ESSs), and controllable loads are aggregated and then managed by VPP. The target of VPP is this chapter is to attenuate the entire operating expense and consider the energy loss cost.