Consistent modeling, design and analysis of multi-layered hybrid power systems with distributed control
The objective of this project is to develop methods for the design andanalysis of distributed control strategies for hybrid electricalenergy systems from the perspective of the overall system. To do so wewill build on a combination of methods from hierarchical control,complex network science and nonlinear dynamics. Our ultimate aim isto be able to address questions on structure and control that spanmultiple layers and time scales of hybrid power systems, and be ableto do so with some generality. The ability to answer such questionswill become crucial in the future power grid due to a combination offactors that arise from moving from central conventional generation todecentral, intermittent energy sources. On the one hand, balancingintermittent renewable infeed and load on a local level is overlyexpensive. Thus, extended transmission systems will be needed for aneconomic energy transition. Such additional transmission capacity willpartly take the form of high voltage DC lines, leading to hybrid powersystems. On the other hand, the actors (e.g, demand side managementcontrol, storage, electric vehicles) that control the system andprovide auxiliary services will move to lower grid levels. This willenable and require decentralized, locally controlled subnetworks, so calledmicrogrids. The ability to partition the system at microgridboundaries will potentially improve the resilience against failures inthe transmission level as well as in neighboring networks bypreventing cascades. At the same time, this changes the controlproblem dramatically, and raises the question for the need ofdedicated communication infrastructure. The tension between the needfor increased global transmission and local, decentralized agents tocontrol the system introduces a deep hierarchy into the design of thecontrol of the electrical power system. The questions that arise inthis context are novel in nature. E.g., what is the optimal size of theorganizational units, i.e., the microgrids? Is this size static ordynamic itself? The conceptual and methodological nature of our work, combininghierarchical control concepts and sampling based methods for analyzingoverall systems, will allow for the application of results to differentgeographical contexts, with differently developed infrastructure. Wewill be able to not only answer questions regarding the transformationfrom bulk fossil-fueled power generation towards increasing renewableinfeed in industrialized economies, but also questions pertinent tomulti-layer hybrid systems that occur elsewhere. For example, abottom-up electrification approach in rural areas of the global southstarting from stand-alone household-based electrical energy systemstowards organically growing distribution networks for energy trading,eventually coupled to a transmission network, can also be studied,using the methodological framework to be developed within thisproject.
Principal Investigators:
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kurths
Prof. Dr. Jörg Raisch