Coordination of prosumer agents via distributed optimal power flow: An edge computing hardware prototype

Abstract

With the rapid rise of distributed energy resources (DER), such as rooftop photovoltaic (PV), electric vehicles and smart buildings in general, the traditional role of electrical energy consumer is shifting to one of a prosumer role [1]. However, the uncoordinated participation of DER may result in network problems, as violations of voltage limits or transformer capacity. One approach to implementing large-scale resource coordination is to solve an AC (alternating current) optimal power flow (OPF). This allows a network agent to optimally allocate generation resources to meet the electricity demand, respecting constraints of the physical network.