Control aspects and the design of a small-scale test virtual power plant

Nowadays the amount of distributed generation (DG) is growing rapidly. This is valid both for units connected to MV grids as well as LV networks. Although now the share of LV-connected units is quite limited, this situation might change with the increase of number of installed micro CHP units in residential areas, further stimulus of solar power production and introduction of electric and fuel cell based cars. Management and control of such small and medium-scale inverter-interfaced generation can be optimised using the virtual power plant (VPP) principle. Various control aspects of VPP as an attribute of the interconnected power system are analyzed, and the design of a small-scale experimental setup is proposed.