Prof. Nando

Abstract: Australia has currently the largest residential photovoltaic (PV) penetration in the world, with more than 1 in 5 houses with the technology. Battery storage systems are also becoming attractive as they allow storing excess PV generation during the day to use it later at night. These distribution-connected technologies, also known as Distributed Energy Resources (DER), have not only become common in many countries around the world but, more and more, this is creating opportunities for DER owners to provide system-level services through aggregators. However, as the volume of DER providing services increase, the more necessary is to ensure the integrity of the distribution network; guaranteeing that voltages and power flows remain within limits. But the big barrier for distribution companies is that they cannot directly manage DER or aggregators. To overcome this barrier in an effective way, this webinar presents and discusses the concept of meter-level operating envelopes. In this concept, distribution companies calculate, in real-time or day-ahead, operating envelopes (time-varying export or import limits) at the connection point of the customers (where the meter is). This information is then given to aggregators for them to consider it as a hard constraint when deciding how to manage their DER portfolio. The concept and its effectiveness are illustrated using a realistic Australian distribution network. Finally, the webinar discusses the challenges associated with the calculation and implementation of such operating envelopes, including smart meter data, interactions among the three phases, fairness, and reactive power.

Biography:

Luis(Nando) Ochoa is Professor of Smart Grids and Power Systems at The University of Melbourne, Australia and part-time Professor of Smart Grids at The University of Manchester, UK. His expertise in network integration of distributed energy resources (DER) and smart grids as well as his extensive portfolio of industrial and academic projects have led to 180+ research papers, 70+ technical reports, and two patents, one filed by Psymetrix Ltd (now part of GE) and one filed by The University of Melbourne. Prof Ochoa is an IEEE PES Distinguished Lecturer and is also Editorial Board Member of the IEEE Power and Energy Magazine. Prof Ochoa is an IEEE Senior Member since 2012. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering from UNI (Peru), and a Research MSc and a PhD in Electrical Power Engineering, both from UNESP Ilha Solteira (Brazil).