Dynamic adjustment method for the configuration of distributed energy resources in virtual power plants

As a crucial platform for integrating distributed energy resources (DERs), the virtual power plant (VPP) offers significant advantages in enhancing system flexibility and alleviating supply–demand mismatches. However, the diversity and operational heterogeneity of DERs pose significant challenges in aligning their behaviors with the regulation requirements of VPPs. To fully harness the diverse regulation capabilities of VPPs and facilitate the coordinated operation of DERs, this paper proposes dividing DERs into multiple virtual units with distinct regulation capabilities and dynamically adjusting their configurations. First, the regulation capabilities and performance metrics of virtual units are characterized from multiple perspectives, and decision-making models are developed for both DERs and virtual units during the aggregation phase. Subsequently, a multi-stage matching mechanism based on an improved deferred acceptance algorithm is introduced to achieve dynamic resource aggregation and reconfiguration. Case studies demonstrate that, compared with the conventional fixed aggregation of DERs, the proposed dynamic construction method reduces the total deviation of the VPP by 20.4% and increases its profit by 11.8%. In addition, it effectively mitigates undesirable strategic behaviors of DERs and virtual units, thereby enhancing the fairness of resource aggregation. These findings demonstrate the enhanced capability of the VPP to manage DERs and offer new insights into leveraging their multiple flexibility functions.