Fast method commits many power generators under grid limits
Fast Relax-and-Round Unit Commitment with Topological Constraints
Mathematical Software
Summary
With more power needed for data centers, managing many local generators on the grid is tricky. The authors extended a technique called Relax-and-Round Unit Commitment to quickly decide which generators to turn on. Their method works well even for very large grid models, solving problems much faster than current solvers while respecting grid safety rules. This helps utilities plan generation more efficiently amid growing and shifting power demands.
What this means in practice
- •For utility grid operators: Schedule many local generators under network limits quickly for real-time grid balancing amid growing loads.
- •For data center infrastructure teams: Plan onsite generator commitment efficiently to complement grid power and maintain reliable data center operations.
Authors
Evan J. R. Brody, Charles Foltz, Eve Tsybina, Slaven Peles, Shaked Regev
Abstract
Recent developments in the US knowledge economy have created a significant growth in datacenter loads, with two major consequences for power generation. First, to compensate for growth in load, datacenters are encouraged to bring their own generating units. Second, in search of the remaining pools of dispatchable generation, utilities are increasingly turning to subtransmission and distribution level generating assets. Coupled with increasing loads and the resulting tighter grid conditions, both trends are likely to create a need to commit a large number of localized generating units under grid constraints. We propose an extension of Relax-and- Round Unit Commitment (RRUC) that is capable of committing generating units for larger problems faster than conventional methods, while staying within intertemporal and spatial MVA constraints. We demonstrate the performance of RRUC using synthetic congestible test systems ranging from 100 to 20,000 buses. RRUC consistently finds low cost solutions, independent of the problem size, and its run time increases sub-quadratically in the number of buses. RRUC can solve the 100 bus system in less than a second and the 20,000 bus system 7 minutes. In contrast, a leading state of the art solver cannot find a feasible solution to the 100 bus system in 15 minutes.