Assessing Hosting Capacity for Distribution Power Systems in the Presence of Flexibility Services Provided by Renewable Energy Communities

To enhance the flexibility and resilience of the electricity system amidst the massive integration of Renewable Energy Sources (RESs), innovative strategies need to be developed. This research proposes a linear tool to evaluate the Hosting Capacity (HC) for radial distribution systems in presence of flexibilization services to be provided by Renewable Energy Communities (RECs). The developed framework is applied to Virtual Islanding (VI), an operating configuration that enables RECs to function in a coordinated, grid-connected manner, mitigating congestion and maximizing the integration of RESs. A linear optimization methodology is introduced to assess the benefits of VI in electricity distribution networks. The IEEE 10-node network is used to benchmark three operational scenarios, highlighting the benefits of VI in reducing curtailment and improving system performance both from technical and sustainability perspectives.