Stascade

Stable and scalable decentralized power balancing systems using adaptive clustering

The NWO URSES project Stascade: Stable and scalable decentralized power balancing systems using adaptive clustering

Energy systems are in transition. Whereas in the past, energy supply was determined by demand, in future, demand will need to follow supply. Changing prices is a means to this end, via markets in which bids for demand and/or supply determine the market price for a specific period of time.
Such markets, however, have their drawbacks. An important drawback is that markets can typically be highly dynamic, even with disruptive or chaotic behaviour. In addition, current centralised markets are not designed to deal with local network failures. These factors influence the stability and predictability of the energy system. Therefore, there is a need for decentralized, stabilizing, and scalable approaches to balance supply and demand (S/D) of energy.
This proposal focuses on the design of distributed coordination and market mechanisms to this purpose. Distributed dynamic clusters of synergetic consumers and producers are our basic construct. Clusters are designed to coordinate local load balancing for varying periods of time amongst consumers and producers, typically for substantially longer periods than considered in markets. Local load balancing in clusters thus allows for novel, more reliable solutions for global load balancing and can be used in conjunction with (current or novel) external market mechanisms. In addition, clusters are dynamic and can adapt to changing situations, including network failures. This project designs novel models, techniques and approaches for dynamic clustering and market mechanisms for energy S/D balancing, in a cooperation between engineering systems, computer science, and electrical engineering researchers, and network operator, ICT, and business consultants.

Phd student: Dr. Nina Voulis, MSc
Supervisors: Prof.dr. M. Warnier (Martijn), Prof. dr. F.M.T. Brazier (Frances)