Abstract:

As China accelerates the construction of power systems with renewable energy as the mainstay, the large-scale integration of renewables has led to prominent issues such as wind and light curtailment. To improve the utilization of new energy consumption in power systems, this paper proposes a novel renewable energy consumption method based on load alignment and deep reinforcement learning. First, it proposes a node load line formation model based on linearized power flow calculations, which can guide adjustable loads to shift the electricity consumption period, thereby promoting the improvement of new energy consumption. Unlike the direct current (DC) power flow model, the proposed alternating current (AC) model accounts for voltage constraints and other related constraints of the power system. Compared with other AC power flow models, this model linearizes all nonlinear constraints and has lower computational costs. Then, this paper constructs a market framework for load alignment mechanism. The framework involves three main entities: independent system operators, regional power grid sellers, and electric vehicle adjustable load aggregators. It also explores the solution for load alignment incentive prices using electric vehicle clusters as adjustable loads. As the solution of the load benchmark incentive price involves a master-slave game between three entities, conventional mathematical analysis methods face high complexity. Therefore, it employs deep reinforcement learning algorithm to solve the problem. The deep reinforcement learning algorithm takes the marginal electricity price of each node as state space, the load benchmark incentive price as action space, and the cost of regional power grid sellers as feedback. The agent can find the load line incentive price that maximizes the benefits of regional power grid sellers after continuous training. Finally, the example analysis shows that the load alignment mechanism not only effectively promotes the improvement of new energy consumption level, but also enhances the interests of independent system operators, regional power grid sellers, and electric vehicle aggregators. The results further confirm that the deep reinforcement learning algorithm maximizes the benefits of regional power grid sellers.

Key words: load alignment, renewable energy consumption, deep reinforcement learning, demand response