Integrated flexibility solutions for effective congestion management in Distribution Grids

This chapter explores integrated flexibility solutions within an Integrated Local Energy Community (ILEC) framework and their potential for alleviating congestion issues in the upper grid. It addresses the pressing concern of congestion in Europe and proposes integrated flexibility from ILECs as a partial remedy. The general concept of integrated flexibility is first introduced in the context of ILECs. Then, two use-cases are presented in which integrated flexibility is extracted from assets for congestion management and other purposes. The chapter then dives into various potential instruments to grid operators for procuring flexibility to do congestion management, aligning them with the European Clean Energy package. The overview is complemented with a simulation study presenting the effectiveness of a bandwidth tariff instrument. The chapter finishes with a discussion on existing challenges and barriers for the effective adoption of integrated flexibility for congestion management and presents an outlook on the topic.