Real-Time Economic Dispatch Approach for Wholesale Energy Market With Multi-Transmission-Node DER Aggregation

Enabling the integration of distributed energy resources (DERs) into the wholesale market, as prompted by the FERC Order 2222, introduces substantial operational complexities. To align with the current wholesale energy market practice, regional transmission organizations (RTOs) are pursuing the aggregation of transmission-node-level DERs (T-DERs), in which each T-DER is a projected representation of all DERs in the distribution network underneath the transmission node, such as a virtual power plant (VPP). This paper advances a real-time economic dispatch (RTED) framework to facilitate the aggregation of multiple T-DERs, optimizing their participation in energy market operations. We enhance the distribution factors (DFs) based modeling to capture the impact of individual T-DERs across the transmission network. Specifically, an innovative DF updating strategy is introduced in our methodology, incorporating a tailored K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN) predictor and a discrete PI corrector, along with transmission signals that sufficiently guarantee transmission constraints. These enhancements optimize the economic efficiency of the market clearing process, allowing numerous T-DERs to be involved in current energy market practices. The proposed method is tested on modified 24-bus and 118-bus systems via a rolling RTED process with real load data. The test results show that the proposed framework demonstrates marked improvements in minimizing system operation costs and satisfying the transmission network constraints.