PHD POSITION ON ENERGY SYSTEMS MODELING, embedded in the ACCELERATING LOW VOLTAGE FLEXIBILITY PARTICIPATION IN A GRID SAFE MANNER (ALEXANDER) project

The main goal of the ALEXANDER project is to remove barriers that could block the full potential of the use of flexibility available in the LV network for the provision of system services (both long term, as important source to guarantee security of supply, and short term, as provider for balancing services). Consequently, better model representation of heterogeneous behaviour of LV flexibility for security assessments and improved algorithms for operational inclusion of LV flexibility for procurement and activation of system services will be developed. The developed innovations should allow for inclusion of the currently unused LV flexibility potential in an efficient way to deliver system services required in the near future. The approach in ALEXANDER is based on three pillars. Pillar 1 will undertake an in-depth analysis of consumer behaviour, including consumer preferences and bounded rationality. The results from a set of discrete choice experiments will bring fundamentally new insights with respect to 1) consumer-centric design of flexibility products and processes for system services and 2) perceived economic value by consumers of their flexibility. Pillar 2 will identify technical and operational barriers for the provision of system services from LV networks. Innovative solutions for active system management will be developed, going further than existing state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence (AI), big data, and power system engineering algorithms, integrating the consumer view as examined in pillar 1 from the design phase. An integrated and consumer-centric framework for LV flexibility procurement and activation for Belgium will be presented, integrating different flexibility mechanisms and appropriate coordination mechanisms between system operators. Pillar 3 will assess the impact of the developed models and solutions in pillar 1 and pillar 2 for the entire Belgian energy system, adopting a multi-stakeholder approach. The impact on security of supply (innovative and consumer-centric adequacy assessment) and balancing (e.g. strategies for system service provision by commercial parties) are modelled and analysed. Finally, the approach of the ALEXANDER project guarantees that, although disruptive by nature, the proposed innovations are aligned with the different stakeholder perspectives: overall system perspective, system operator perspective, service provider perspective and end-consumer perspective. This inclusive approach enables a higher acceptance level and integration of LV flexibility for the provision of system services, leading to increased security of supply and system stability.