Profitability Analysis of Coalition of Virtual Power Plants and Load Aggregators in Active Distribution Networks

Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) play a key role in the Active Distribution Networks (ADNs) with environmental concerns. Their small scales and the uncertainty pertaining to intermittent generation of renewable resources are the major challenges of participating in the wholesale electricity markets. Based on the concept of Virtual Power Plant (VPP), the aggregation of heterogeneous DERs is possible and the associated risks of their uncertain generation or consumption can be also hedged. Moreover, the coordination of DERs under the umbrella of VPP yields a surplus profit in comparison with the profits made by uncoordinated DERs. In this paper, the mathematical modeling of each member of the VPP and the way of its involvement in the pool are first presented. Then, the coalition forming of a VPP with a Load Aggregator (LA) and their simultaneous participation in both the day-ahead and real-time markets are analyzed. Finally, the profitability of such bigger coalition in ADN is demonstrated via a comprehensive case study.