Ishanki Anjana De Mel

Distributed Energy Systems (DES) have been increasingly investigated as a viable alternative to ageing centralised energy networks. Optimisation models presented in literature for the design and operation of distributed energy systems often exclude the inherent nonlinearities, related to power flow and generation and storage units, to maintain an accuracy-complexity balance. Such models may provide sub-optimal or even infeasible designs and dispatch schedules. In DES, optimal power flow (OPF) is often treated as a standalone problem, consisting of highly nonlinear, nonconvex constraints related to the underlying distribution network. This aspect of the optimisation problem has often been overlooked by researchers in the process systems and optimisation area.

This project aims to address the disparity between OPF and DES models, highlighting the importance of including elements of OPF in DES design and operational models to obtain feasible designs and operational schedules. The literature review identified key works that have attempted to do so, and highlights several gaps that have remained despite these efforts. A methodology is proposed to develop new models that are capable of maintaining the accuracy-complexity balance, while consolidating DES and OPF and including detailed representations of key components (such as batteries). It involves three modelling routes, each designed to investigate how detailed modelling can impact DES objectives, designs, and operating schedules. Current model formulations are implemented and tested, where preliminary results shed light on the multi-faceted nature of DES and the need to make detailed optimisation models available to stakeholders who are interested in consolidating them. 

Research theme: Digital and Process Innovation