Quantifying the Impact of Solar Photovoltaic and Energy Storage Assets on the Performance of a Residential Energy Aggregator

Demand response (DR) and renewable energy sources have opened new avenues for end-users to lower their energy expenses via energy management systems. Aggregators facilitate the participation of end-users by acting on their behalf and interacting with bulk electricity markets. In this paper, an energy management algorithm is presented to investigate the impact of distributed photovoltaic (PV) and central energy storage system (ESS) assets on the economic performance of an energy aggregator in the residential sector. To enable DR, the aggregator provides a competitive incentive price to end-users, and centrally optimizes the central ESS assets and schedule of committed customer elastic loads. Thus, customers reduce their daily electricity bill while the aggregator decreases the aggregated peak consumption and earns profits as a return for providing DR services. The scope of this paper pertains to the economic impact of distributed PV and central ESS assets on aggregator profits and customer savings resulting from DR, including ESS degradation. Simulation results showed that the central ESS increases the income of the aggregator, whereas residential PV reduces the impact of DR.