Renewable energy communities virtual islanding: A decentralized service to improve distribution grid security

This article presents a novel service provided by Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) for the distribution network. This service, called Virtual Islanding (VI) and ideally requested to the RECs by the Distribution System Operator (DSO), basically consists in requiring that the net active power exchange between the involved REC and the main grid is zero for a specified time frame. The effectiveness of RECs VI operation is assessed using an Optimal Power Flow (OPF) that considers distribution network operational limits. Simulations, performed in a test case distribution system with massive penetration of RES, highlight the VI benefits both from a technical and sustainability viewpoint.