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Lara, Jose Daniel

Publications and source records attributed to Lara, Jose Daniel.

A Model for Hybrid Systems for Production Cost Modeling Studies Considering Ancillary Services

This paper introduces a model for simulating hybrid plants participating in energy and ancillary services for bulk power system studies. The model considers a hybrid plant comprised of a renewable energy source, a thermal power unit, a storage unit, fixed power loads, or any combination of these technologies. The model focuses on Production Cost Modeling (PCM) studies under the assumption of centralized dispatch. We present an example case study to illustrate the use of the model in a single-stage production cost model similar to those conducted by planning agencies. We explore the allocation of behind-the-meter ancillary services products and total energy participation to hybrid plant sub-assets and the resulting impacts on the system's ancillary service allocation. The model is implemented and simulated in a unit commitment problem in the RTS test system, which was modified to include a hybrid plant asset.

ancillary services↗

Improved Evaluation of Large Network Matrices for Linear Power Flow Within Optimization Problems

This work presents methods for evaluating the Power Transfer Distribution Factor (PTDF) and Line Outage Distribution Factor (LODF) matrices by employing sparse linear algebra for large-scale computing applications. These matrices play a critical role in many power system applications, such as the Unit Commitment Problem (UC), pre- and post-contingency power flow analysis, and transmission expansion. These matrices are typically dense, which means they require a significant amount of time and memory to be computed for large networks. However, by analyzing the structure of the matrices and their computation method, it is possible to use reduced memory methods based on sparse matrix operations. This paper shows that sparse linear algebra algorithms are faster and require less memory and time than traditional dense approaches. Additionally, we explore the effect of matrix sparsification by eliminating trailing digits on power flow calculations.

large scale↗

Implementación acelerada del almacenamiento de energía en los países de RELAC [Accelerated Energy Storage Deployment in RELAC Countries]

"Renewables in Latin America and the Caribbean" or RELAC is a regional initiative across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) that was created at the end of 2019, within the framework of the United Nations Climate Action Summit, with the objective of reaching at least 70% of renewable energy installed capacity, and 80% of the region's total electricity generation from renewables by 2030. 16 countries are members (Barbados, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay), and others are in discussions to join. RELAC provides these countries with support in addressing technical and financial needs to increase renewable energy penetration, matchmaking with financial resources to support capacity building needs and implementation of RE expansion plans, and knowledge exchange via peer-learning, and best practices in renewable energy integration to the electrical grid. This is the Spanish translation of NREL/TP-7A40-89643.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Accelerated Energy Storage Deployment in RELAC Countries

"Renewables in Latin America and the Caribbean" or RELAC is a regional initiative across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) that was created at the end of 2019, within the framework of the United Nations Climate Action Summit, with the objective of reaching at least 70% of renewable energy installed capacity, and 80% of the region's total electricity generation from renewables by 2030. 16 countries are members (Barbados, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay), and others are in discussions to join. RELAC provides these countries with support in addressing technical and financial needs to increase renewable energy penetration, matchmaking with financial resources to support capacity building needs and implementation of RE expansion plans, and knowledge exchange via peer-learning, and best practices in renewable energy integration to the electrical grid.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Interregional Transmission Operational Coordination

This presentation will discuss challenges and opportunities on interregional coordination in the areas of interchange transaction, congestion management, reserve sharing and deliverability across multi-stage operational processes. It will then provide an overview of the interregional transmission operational coordination (IRTOC) project that currently focuses on congestion management, including Inter-regional transmission coordination in real time operations and operational planning, HVDC optimization (intra- and interregional), ancillary service deliverability (intra- and interregional). In addition, it will discuss the Sienna-Decomposition tool development to systematically study interregional coordination methods.

congestion management↗

Power System Operational Impacts of Electric Vehicle Dynamic Wireless Charging

The electrification of the transportation sector poses an opportunity for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from passenger vehicles. Electric vehicle (EV) charging through dynamic wireless power transfer (DWPT), known as roadway electrification, could shift EV demand profiles to better coincide with renewable electricity generation. However, this would be a very large new load and few studies evaluate the regional impacts of DWPT charging in a power transmission system. This paper defines methods that address dataset generation for passenger vehicle trips and models to evaluate regional impacts for this emerging technology. Household vehicle miles traveled (VMT) data form localized EV demand profiles through discrete-event simulation. This data serves as exogenous inputs for a Production Cost Model (PCM) of a synthetic transmission system based on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas's (ERCOT) network. EV charging methods are compared for both a 2018 baseline generation mixture and a high-renewable generation case incorporating 20 GW of installed solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity. The PCM employs unit commitment and economic dispatch (UC&ED) models to compare financial, environmental, and grid reliability impacts from EV charging across passenger EV adoption levels. In-transit charging could reduce grid operational costs by as much as 1.49%, with up to $13.7B saved in annual vehicle operational costs for consumers compared to gas-powered vehicles. Health impacts analysis from power plant and vehicle tailpipe emissions from this study show net health benefits increase by 40% for in-transit charging coupled with high renewable generation. Renewable resources provide an avenue for cost-effective in-transit charging with reduced emissions. The combination of dataset generation and open-source power system modeling establish a foundation for the holistic evaluation of regional DWPT impacts.

dynamic wireless power transfer↗

A Model for Hybrid Systems for Production Cost Modeling Studies Considering Ancillary Services: Preprint

This paper introduces a model for simulating hybrid plants participating in energy and ancillary services for bulk power system studies. The model considers a hybrid plant comprised of a renewable energy source, a thermal power unit, a storage unit, fixed power loads, or any combination of these technologies. The model focuses on Production Cost Modeling (PCM) studies under the assumption of centralized dispatch. We present an example case study to illustrate the use of the model in a single-stage production cost model similar to those conducted by planning agencies. We explore the allocation of behind-themeter ancillary services products and total energy participation to hybrid plant sub-assets and the resulting impacts on the system's ancillary service allocation. The model is implemented and simulated in a unit commitment problem in the RTS test system, which was modified to include a hybrid plant asset.

ancillary services↗

Improved Evaluation of Large Network Matrices for Linear Power Flow Within Optimization Problems: Preprint

This work discusses methods for evaluating the Power Transfer Distribution Factor (PTDF) and Line Outage Distribution Factor (LODF) matrices by employing sparse linear algebra for large-scale computing applications. These matrices are critical in many power systems applications, such as the Unit Commitment Problem (UC), pre- and post-contingency power flow analysis, and transmission expansion. These matrices are typically dense, which means they require a significant amount of time and memory to be computed for large networks. However, by analyzing the structure of the matrices and their computation method, it is possible to use reduced memory methods based on sparse matrix operations. This paper shows that sparse linear algebra algorithms are faster and require less memory and time than traditional dense approaches. Additionally, we explore the effect of matrix sparsification by eliminating trailing digits on power flow calculations.

ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Small-Signal Stability Impacts of Load and Network Dynamics on Grid-Forming Inverters

This paper presents several stability analyses for grid-forming inverters and synchronous generators considering the dynamics of transmission lines and different load models. Load models are usually of secondary importance compared to generation source models, but as the results show, they play a crucial role in stability studies with the introduction of inverter-based resources. Given inverter control time scales, the implications of considering or neglecting electromagnetic transients of the network are very relevant in the stability assessments. In this paper, we perform eigenvalue analyses for inverter-based resources and synchronous machines connected to a load and explore the effects of multiples models under different network representations. We explore maximum loadability of inverter-based resources and synchronous machines, while analyzing the effects of load and network dynamic models on small-signal stability. The results show that the network representation plays a fundamental role in the stability of the system of different load models. The resulting stability regions are significantly different depending on the source and load model considered.

grid forming inverters↗

Revisiting Power Systems Time-Domain Simulation Methods and Models

The changing nature of power systems dynamics is challenging present practices related to modeling and study of system-level dynamic behavior. While developing new techniques and models to handle the new modeling requirements, it is also critical to review some of the terminology used to describe existing simulation approaches and the embedded assumptions. This article provides a first-principles review of the simplifications and transformations commonly used in the formulation of time-domain simulation models. It introduces a taxonomy and classification of time-domain simulation models depending on their frequency bandwidth, network representation, and software availability. Furthermore, it focuses on the fundamental aspects of averaging techniques, and model reduction approaches that result in modeling choices, and discusses the associated challenges and opportunities of applying these methods in systems with large shares of Inverter Based Resources (IBRs). The article concludes with an illustrative simulation that compares the trajectories of an IBR-dominated system.

behavioral sciences↗

Solving Unit Commitment Problems with Demand Responsive Loads

This work focuses on using variations of the Frank-Wolfe (FW) algorithm for solving unit commitment problems with high volumes of demand responsive loads on the power grid. We present a formulation of the unit commitment problem with demand responsive loads. We then show through reformulation and relaxations of the problem that variations of the Frank-Wolfe algorithm can be used to determine the time series decisions for the demand responsive loads. We show through computational experiments on the IEEE Reliability Test System that the timeseries of demand responsive load decisions obtained through our approach are near optimal and describe how large-scale parallel implementations of our approach can be highly computationally efficient.

demand response↗

Solving Unit Commitment Problems with Demand Responsive Loads: Preprint

This paper focuses on using variations of the Frank-Wolfe algorithm for solving unit commitment problems with high volumes of demand responsive loads on the power grid. We present a formulation of the unit commitment problem with demand responsive loads. We then show through reformulation and relaxations of the problem that variations of the Frank-Wolfe algorithm can be used to determine the time series decisions for the demand responsive loads. We show through computational experiments on the RTS-GMLC test system that the time series of demand responsive load decisions obtained through our approach are near optimal and provide details regarding how large scale parallel implementations of our approach can be highly computationally efficient.

demand response↗

Investigation of Stochastic Unit Commitment to Enable Advanced Flexibility Measures for High Shares of Solar PV

As the share of solar photovoltaics (PV) in the power system increases, there is a growing need for flexibility from multiple, possibly interdependent sources to adjust to PV's variability, uncertainty, and diurnal dependence. This paper investigates how stochastic unit commitment leveraging probabilistic solar forecasts can support other flexibility measures under high solar shares. We consider two flexibility measures relevant to day-ahead scheduling: battery energy time-shifting and solar ancillary service provision. Unit commitment and economic dispatch simulations are conducted on a realistic test system based on Texas using day-ahead solar trajectories. The benefits of the two flexibility measures are pronounced when the instantaneous solar share is high, offering cost savings of 10%-20% in the spring. For a Texas-sized system, this translates to hundreds of millions of dollars in cost savings once the installed PV capacity enables instantaneous solar shares regularly exceeding 40%. Using probabilistic forecasts also greatly increases the reliability of upward reserve provision from solar PV, reducing unserved reserves by 50%-100%. Both day-ahead forecast resolution and errors can impact system reliability at high solar shares, but the stochastic formulation has significant value, mitigating reliability impacts on over-forecast days.

ancillary services↗

A Multi-Stage Stochastic Risk Assessment With Markovian Representation of Renewable Power

Probabilistic forecasts provide a distribution of possible outputs and so can capture the uncertainty and variability of Variable Renewable Energy (VRE). However, taking advantage of uncertainty information has practical challenges that make it difficult to integrate probabilistic forecasting into control room decision-making. This paper proposes a novel use-case for probabilistic forecasts by incorporating them into the hour-ahead operations for situational awareness via a risk-averse multi-stage stochastic program. We employ a Markovian representation of the probabilistic forecasts that enables the formulation of the multi-stage problem and avoids a scenario generation phase. We test the model on a realistically sized system to assess risk and showcase the capability of using probabilistic renewable forecast as input to produce probabilistic output forecasts of future system states. The results show that the model can capture time consistency in the reserves and Area Control Error (ACE) forecast. The solution times are adequate for risk profiling in hour-ahead timescales.

forecasting↗

Computational Experiment Design for Operations Model Simulation

Computer simulations that demonstrate the value of novel approaches are crucial to developing more flexible and robust power systems operations with high penetrations of renewable energy at multiple geographic and temporal scales. However, optimization-based simulations that depend on forecast data often face challenges in evaluating performance, reproducing results, and testing under realistic simulation scenarios. In this paper, we develop scientific computing best-practices for the validation and reproduction of power systems operational models. We then employ two case studies to demonstrate the proposed validation and reproduction framework.

MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING,POWER TRANSMISSION AND D↗

Including operational aspects in the planning of power systems with large amounts of variable generation: A review of modeling approaches

In the past, power system planning was based on meeting the load duration curve at minimum cost. The increasing share of variable generation (VG) makes operational constraints more important in the planning problem, and there is more and more interest in considering aspects such as sufficient ramping capability, sufficient reserve procurement, power system stability, storage behavior, and the integration of other energy sectors often through demand response assets. In VG integration studies, several methods have been applied to combine the planning and operational timescales. We present a four-level categorization for the modeling methods, in order of increasing complexity: (1a) investment model only, (1b) operational model only, (2) unidirectionally soft-linked investment and operational models, (3a) bidirectionally soft-linked investment and operational models, (3b) operational model with an investment update algorithm, and (4) co-optimization of investments and operation. The review shows that using a low temporal resolution or only few representative days will not suffice in order to determine the optimal generation portfolio. In addition, considering operational effects proves to be important in order to get a more optimal generation portfolio and more realistic estimations of system costs. However, operational details appear to be less significant than the temporal representation. Furthermore, the benefits and impacts of more advanced modeling techniques on the resulting generation capacity mix significantly depend on the system properties. Thus, the choice of the model should depend on the purpose of the study as well as on system characteristics.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

WaterSystems.jl

WaterSystems.jl is a Julia package for defining water delivery infrastructure system data and problem definitions. The WaterSystems.jl package enables parsing from the EPANET *.inp file format and the expression of data for WaterSimulations.jl models. WaterSystems.jl defines a data schema for water infrastructure networks.

Barrows, Clayton↗