Application of 5G Technology in Orchestration of Virtual Power Plants and Demand Response

The increasing number of distributed energy resources (DER) and the increasing penetration of intermittent renewable generation impose a significant challenge in ensuring the reliability of the electricity grid. Orchestration of virtual power plants (VPP) and demand response (DR) programs provides flexibility in the grid and improves grid reliability. The deployment of 5G will significantly improve the performance of VPP and DR by providing reliable and low-latency communication solutions. In this paper, the advantages and challenges of using 5G in the orchestration of VPP and DR are discussed. The study shows that 5G technology can address many of the current limitations in orchestration of VPP and DR programs. Furthermore, the main challenges of 5G in large scale operations of VPP and DR programs are discussed.