Computational Platform in OpenDSS for Simulation of Aggregators and Urban Virtual Power Plant

The purpose of this article is to present a computer simulation of a fictitious project of a Virtual Power Plant, or Virtual Power Plant (VPP), in a housing estate buildings in the city of Recife-PE, Brazil. The location was chosen because it has buildings with regular sizes, excellent solar irradiation throughout the year and a power distribution grid around each block. Although theoretical, the project can be implemented because each building of the proposed model would act as a VPP aggregator with photovoltaic solar generation and energy storage in batteries composing the Distributed Energy Resources (RED) for energy supply. The modeling of the system is being developed with the OpenDSS program, OpenSource license, commonly used by Distribution Service Operators, together with the Python language. The buildings will be grouped into subgroups and groups with simulation of three scenarios to observe the performance of the aggregators to provide a load of 40kW of the distribution network. The results demonstrate that the aggregators have an important contribution in the supply of electric energy and the association of more aggregators increases the reliability of the system. Computer simulations of the proposed scenarios help to understand the interaction between different energy sources, contributing to studies and planning of electrical systems.