Local Energy Communities (LECs) can facilitate the transition towards sustainable and clean energy system infrastructure. In this work, we construct a novel hierarchical energy management framework for an LEC equipped with a community energy storage (CES) installation. The proposed two-stage approach involves end-users making self-driven, cost-optimal decisions (first stage) and said decisions being further coordinated through the CES in service of boosting the LEC’s self-consumption and self-sufficiency (second stage). By complementing the approach with a real-time, predictive, envelope-based methodology for LEC flexibility quantification, a rigorous cost structure for flexibility procurement is established. The LEC is further considered to be providing higher-level ancillary services to the wider power grid, through the load flexibility provision and CES capacity sharing. The efficacy and superior performance of the proposed approach are demonstrated in an exhaustive case study. This includes a detailed comparison with conventional centralized approaches and a comprehensive analysis of the financial and environmental benefits that this envisioned LEC variant can ultimately achieve.

中文翻译：

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为可持续发展和电网灵活性提供服务的地方能源社区：共享储能的分级管理


当地能源社区（LEC）可以促进向可持续和清洁能源系统基础设施的过渡。在这项工作中，我们为配备社区储能（CES）装置的LEC构建了一种新颖的分层能源管理框架。拟议的两阶段方法涉及最终用户做出自我驱动、成本最优的决策（第一阶段），并通过 CES 进一步协调这些决策，以促进 LEC 的自我消费和自给自足（第二阶段）。通过用实时、预测、基于包络的 LEC 灵活性量化方法来补充该方法，建立了严格的灵活性采购成本结构。 LEC 还被认为通过提供负载灵活性和 CES 容量共享，为更广泛的电网提供更高水平的辅助服务。详尽的案例研究证明了所提出方法的有效性和卓越性能。这包括与传统集中式方法的详细比较，以及对这种设想的 LEC 变体最终可以实现的财务和环境效益的全面分析。