Flexibility service market for active congestion management of distribution networks using flexible energy resources of microgrids

Nowadays in Europe, more than 90% of solar and wind plants are connected to distribution grids causing technical issues and increase of costs. Network reinforcement may not be the most efficient and cost-efficient solution. Therefore, smart strategies exploiting users' flexibilities need to be developed in order to efficiently manage current grid infrastructure. In this paper, a framework to develop a flexibility service market for active management of distribution grids will be discussed. Moreover, an optimization model for day-ahead congestion management scheduling based on available generation flexibilities in microgrids is proposed. The effectiveness of the proposed model for both distribution system operators and microgrids is tested with a case study using a 74-bus distribution network with connected three microgrids. The results are compared with network reinforcement expenses.