Dispatch Instruction Disaggregation for Virtual Power Plants Using Multi-Parametric Programming

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Please find my comments and questions listed below:

• The paper aims to overcome computational inefficiency and resolve the real-time computational bottleneck. How does this approach truly overcome the significant burden on a central computing node required for massive distributed energy resource (DER) integration, which necessitates processing high-dimensional complex variables and constraints?
• While claiming superior generalization capability across diverse operational scenarios, how does the method ensure robustness against dynamic, unforeseen changes in DER availability or market conditions that go beyond the specific parameters and cost adjustments tested in the case studies?
• Given the recursive partitioning of the parameter space into critical regions, what are the practical scalability limits of this method as the number and complexity of DERs increase, potentially leading to an unmanageably large number of critical regions and affecting the efficiency of the "table lookup" solution?
• How does the linearization of non-linear network constraints, such as power line ampacity constraints, affect the accuracy and true optimality of the dispatch solutions, especially under dynamic conditions where these approximations might introduce significant errors?
• What is the impact of the assumption that micro gas turbines operate continuously without startup/shutdown events on the practicality and overall cost optimality of the dispatch scheme in a real-time environment where such events might be common and costly?
• How does the proposed multi-parametric programming model explicitly incorporate or mitigate the risk of penalties for failing to execute real-time dispatch commands, given that its primary objective is to minimize total operational cost?

Author Response

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Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This paper presents an approach for disaggregating dispatch instructions in virtual power plants using multi-parametric programming. The efficacy of the proposed approach is validated through case studies on the IEEE 33-bus system. Here are some suggestions for improvements:
1. The method can be tested on a larger distribution system than the IEEE 33-bus system to verify the scalability of the proposed method.
2. The literature review should be enriched in terms of DER aggregation and disaggregation in power systems, the solution algorithms for multi-parametric linear programming, and the applications of multi-parametric linear programming in power systems.
3. The proposed approach is for only one period. If the multi-parametric linear programming is required to be solved in each period due to the variation of uncertainties such as renewable generation, then the computational burden seems severe, which should be examined in the paper.
4. It is unclear in the paper what the parameter vector theta represents.
5. The critical region generation process needs more clarifications, which is not very clear in the steps in Section 4.2.
6. In Table 1-3, the "-1" in the unit "CNY(kWh)-1" should be superscript.

Author Response

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Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

1. How can multi-parametric programming be effectively applied to optimize dispatch instruction disaggregation in real-time Virtual Power Plant (VPP) operations?
2. What are the computational benefits of using Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT)-based explicit mapping over traditional real-time scheduling algorithms in systems with high DER penetration?
3. How does recursive critical region partitioning contribute to the efficiency and accuracy of real-time dispatch strategies in distribution networks?
4. What is the impact of DER adjustable capacity and constraint decoupling on the formation of critical regions in multi-parametric optimization models?
5. How scalable is the proposed approach when applied to larger and more complex distribution systems beyond the IEEE 33-bus test system?
6. Can a parameterized dispatch strategy repository reliably ensure real-time response under varying up-grid dispatch conditions and DER fluctuations?
7. What are the limitations or trade-offs involved in applying this method to real-world VPPs with uncertain or stochastic DER outputs?
8. References list can be updated with recent application like  10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e38555 , 10.1109/ICJECE.2021.3069143

9. Clarify better the innovation of this work in the abstract and in the main text.

 

 

Author Response

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Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

thanks no further comments

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

No more comments.