On the Smart Coordination of Flexibility Scheduling in Multi-carrier Integrated Energy Systems

Coordinating the interactions between flexibility assets in multi-carrier integrated energy systems (MIES) can lead to an efficient integration of variable renewable energy resources, and a cost-efficient energy transition. However, the proliferation of flexibility assets and their participation in active demand response increases the complexity of coordinating these interactions. This paper introduces different approaches to model the coordination of flexibility scheduling in MIES. We propose a market auction-inspired model coupling approach to address the challenges of preserving the autonomy and privacy of flexibility providers, and the issue of scalability. We benchmark our approach against co-optimization and an iterative price-response method by conducting experiments with varying problem sizes and computing infrastructure. We show that our approach scales well and is suitable for modeling flexibility in large-scale energy systems in a more realistic way. From an optimality standpoint, the flexibility dispatch schedules and electricity prices are ``near-optimal". Our methodology is implemented as a new open-source software, which offers several practical applications. For example, flexibility providers and network operators can couple their models to simulate the interaction between their systems without disclosing confidential information; policy regulators can use it to investigate new market design and regulations to optimize the utilization of flexibility in MIES.