A stochastic approach for the integration of distributed energy resources

Renewable energy sources are widely perceived as a promising solution to help satisfy increasing energy demand with less harm to the environment and human safety. However, most renewable energy resources (e.g. wind and solar) are irregular and hard to control and therefore their ability to ensure enough capacity to satisfy demand is challenging. To overcome this problem, capacity from renewable energies can be increased through the aggregation of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) such as solar panels, micro-CHP, wind turbines and storage. We consider the problem of effectively integrating different DER technologies to minimize energy costs and maximize revenue from renewable energy credits. We propose a scenario-based modeling approach that considers stochastic energy demand, generation costs and energy prices; and takes into account uncertainty in supply from intermittent sources such as wind turbines. Preliminary results are presented to illustrate the proposed approach and discuss further refinements.