Integration of Multiple Energy Communities: Transaction Prices, Reactive Power Control, and Ancillary Services

This chapter presents an analysis of multiple energy communities, focusing on transaction prices, reactive power control, and ancillary services provision. The increasing participation of end-users in energy markets and the promotion of local ancillary services have created opportunities for energy communities. Communities are also expected to facilitate the transition to the sector coupling approach, e.g. through electromobility, by providing cheaper solutions for electric vehicle (EV) charging and the exploitation of flexibility services that can be offered by parking lots equipped with multiple EV-charging stations, particularly if bidirectional. The first part of the chapter deals with multiple energy communities operating within the same distribution network. It investigates transaction prices and addresses the challenges associated with coordination, balancing, and settlement of transactions in a multicommunity environment. The second part of the chapter deals with the integration of reactive power control and ancillary services provision by local energy communities. It describes the regulatory framework that enables communities to provide reactive power compensation and participate in ancillary services markets. The chapter discusses the technical aspects of reactive power control for individual users, prosumers, and communities, considering compliance requirements and operational constraints. It also analyzes the role of reactive power flexibility in enhancing voltage profiles and deferring the need for expensive voltage control devices. The final part of the chapter is devoted to a review on the integration of electromobility.