The article presents calculations and power flow of a real virtual power plant (VPP), containing a fragment of low and medium voltage distribution network. The VPP contains a hydropower plant (HPP), a photovoltaic system (PV) and energy storage system (ESS). The purpose of this article is to summarize the requirements for connection of generating units to the grid. Paper discusses the impact of the requirements on the maximum installed capacity of distributed energy resource (DER) systems and on the parameters of the energy storage unit. Firstly, a comprehensive review of VPP definitions, aims, as well as the characteristics of the investigated case study of the VPP project is presented. Then, requirements related to the regulation, protection and integration of DER and ESS with power systems are discussed. Finally, investigations related to influence of DER and ESS on power network condition are presented. One of the outcomes of the paper is the method of identifying the maximum power capacity of DER and ESS in accordance with technical network requirements. The applied method uses analytic calculations, as well as simulations using Matlab environment, combined with real measurement data. The obtained results allow the influence of the operating conditions of particular DER and ESS on power flow and voltage condition to be identified, the maximum power capacity of ESS intended for the planed VPP to be determined, as well as the influence of power control strategies implemented in a PV power plant on resources available for the planning and control of a VPP to be specified. Technical limitations of the DER and ESS are used as input conditions for the economic simulations presented in the accompanying paper, which is focused on investigations of economic efficiency.

This paper analyzes the technical and economic possibilities of integrating distributed energy resources (DERs) and energy-storage systems (ESSs) into a virtual power plant (VPP) and operating them as a single power plant. The purpose of the study is to assess the economic efficiency of the VPP model, which is influenced by several factors such as energy price and energy production. Ten scenarios for the VPP were prepared on the basis of the installed capacities of a hydropower plant (HPP), rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV), and energy-storage system (ESS), as well as weather conditions, in Poland. On the basis of technical conditions, it was assumed that the maximum power capacity of the ESS equaled 1.5 MW. The economic efficiency analysis presented in this paper demonstrated that, in seven years, the VPP will achieve a positive value of the net present value (NPV) for a scenario with 0.5 MW battery storage and rainy summers. Furthermore, sensitivity analysis was conducted on price factors and DER production volume. The price variable had a major impact on the NPV value for all scenarios. The scenario with a 0.5 MW battery and typical summers was highly sensitive to all factors, and its sensitivity decreased as the ESS capacity grew from 0.5 to 1.5 MW.

In this article, a case study is presented on applying cluster analysis techniques to evaluate the level of power quality (PQ) parameters of a virtual power plant. The conducted research concerns the application of the K-means algorithm in comparison with the agglomerative algorithm for PQ data, which have different sizes of features. The object of the study deals with the standardized datasets containing classical PQ parameters from two sub-studies. Moreover, the optimal number of clusters for both algorithms is discussed using the elbow method and a dendrogram. The experimental results show that the dendrogram method requires a long processing time but gives a consistent result of the optimal number of clusters when there are additional parameters. In comparison, the elbow method is easy to compute but gives inconsistent results. According to the Calinski–Harabasz index and silhouette coefficient, the K-means algorithm performs better than the agglomerative algorithm in clustering the data points when there are no additional features of PQ data. Finally, based on the standard EN 50160, the result of the cluster analysis from both algorithms shows that all PQ parameters for each cluster in the two study objects are still below the limit level and work under normal operating conditions.

A virtual power plant (VPP) can be defined as the integration of decentralized units into one centralized control system. A VPP consists of generation sources and energy storage units. In this article, based on real measurements, the charging and discharging characteristics of the battery energy storage system (BESS) were determined, which represents a key element of the experimental virtual power plant operating in the power system in Poland. The characteristics were determined using synchronous measurements of the power of charge and discharge of the storage and the state of charge (SoC). The analyzed private network also includes a hydroelectric power plant (HPP) and loads. The article also examines the impact of charging and discharging characteristics of the BESS on its operation, analyzing the behavior of the storage unit for the given operation plans. The last element of the analysis is to control the power flow in the private network. The operation of the VPP for the given scenario of power flow control was examined. The aim of the scenario is to adjust the load of the private network to the level set by the function. The tests of power flow are carried out on the day on which the maximum power demand occurred. The analysis was performed for four cases: a constant value limitation when the HPP is in operation and when it is not, and two limits set by function during normal operation of the HPP. Thus, the article deals not only with the issue of determining the actual characteristics of charging and discharging the storage unit, but also their impact on the operation of the entire VPP.

Recently a number of changes were introduced in amendment to standard EN 50160 related to power quality (PQ) including 1 min aggregation intervals and the obligation to consider 100% of measured data taken for the assessment of voltage variation in a low voltage (LV) supply terminal. Classical power quality assessment can be extended using a correlation analysis so that relations between power quality parameters and external indices such as weather conditions or power demand can be revealed. This paper presents the results of a comparative investigation of the application of 1 and 10 min aggregation times in power quality assessment as well as in the correlation analysis of power quality parameters and weather conditions and the energy production of a 100 kW photovoltaic (PV) power plant connected to a LV network. The influence of the 1 min aggregation time on the result of the PQ assessment as well as the correlation matrix in comparison with the 10 min aggregation algorithm is presented and discussed.

The concept of virtual power plants (VPP) was introduced over 20 years ago but is still actively researched. The majority of research now focuses on analyzing case studies of such installations. In this article, the investigation is based on a VPP in Poland, which contains hydropower plants (HPP) and energy storage systems (ESS). For specific analysis, the power quality (PQ) issues were selected. The used data contain 26 weeks of multipoint, synchronic measurements of power quality levels in four related points. The investigation is concerned with the application of a global index to a single-point assessment as well as an area-related assessment approach. Moreover, the problem of flagged data is discussed. Finally, the assessment of VPP’s impact on PQ level is conducted.