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Coordination optimization within large-scale virtual power plant for frequency stability improvement under internal power and external frequency fluctuations

Author

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  • Chong, Daotong
  • Tian, Zeyu
  • Yan, Hui
  • Sha, Zhaoyang
  • Wang, Zhu
  • Zhao, Quanbin

Abstract

Large-scale virtual power plants (L-VPPs) are key to integrating renewable energy into the plants and grids while maintaining operational stability. However, current methods have not fully addressed the instabilities caused by internal power deviations and external frequency fluctuations. To address internal power deviations, this study proposes a frequency control optimization considering internal power deviation, which allocates controllable units in the VPP based on response requirements and unit characteristics. To compensate external frequency deviations, a frequency control optimization responding to external frequency deviation with proportional adjustment is proposed, using real-time available headroom and droop rates to stabilize the system. The internal and external optimizations are coordinated within an L-VPP that includes a 350 MW coal-fired plant, a 96.2 MW·h battery energy storage, a 20 MW interruptible load, a 100 MW photovoltaics unit, and an internal load unit. Results show that internal optimization reduces the frequency nadir by 16.27 % during primary frequency response and shortens the time to reach steady state by 35 %. The system's ability to eliminate steady-state errors during secondary frequency response is also improved. For external frequency deviations, independent external optimization significantly increases the output power of controllable units, with an 88.89 % increase in output power but only a 6.91 % change in participated proportion of unit. Coordinated internal and external optimizations allow the output power and participated proportion of unit to be decoupled. Under different conditions, the battery energy storage proportion increases from 46.69 % to 86.67 %, and the interruptible load proportion rises from 0 % to 62.25 %. These coordinated optimizations greatly enhance the flexibility and capacity of L-VPPs in grid auxiliary services.

Suggested Citation

  • Chong, Daotong & Tian, Zeyu & Yan, Hui & Sha, Zhaoyang & Wang, Zhu & Zhao, Quanbin, 2025. "Coordination optimization within large-scale virtual power plant for frequency stability improvement under internal power and external frequency fluctuations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 384(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:384:y:2025:i:c:s0306261925001461
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2025.125416
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    1. Chen, Runxin & Liao, Liqing & Song, Dongran & Wei, Chuxi & Yang, Jian & Talaat, M. & Elkholy, M.H., 2026. "Two-stage optimization scheduling strategy for virtual power plants considering the correlated uncertainty of distributed energy storage in extreme scenarios," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 409(C).
    2. Esfahani, Moein & Alizadeh, Ali & Cao, Bo & Kamwa, Innocent & Xu, Minghui, 2025. "Bridging theory and practice: A comprehensive review of virtual power plant technologies and their real-world applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    3. Li, Jiyuan & Chang, Xinyue & Xue, Yixun & Fan, Xiao & Xu, Jiahe & Su, Jia & Sun, Hongbin, 2026. "Privacy-preserving economic dispatch for multi-energy virtual power plants: A distributed approach against Sybil attacks," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 406(C).

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