Wencong Su

Jingwei Luo, Hajir Pourbabak, Wencong Su

This paper gives an insight into the applications of an open-source control system platform named VOLTTRON. This platform was developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. A brief introduction is given on the functionality and key features of the platform. Potential applications in the areas of building control and electric vehicle charging are stated, along with an overview of existing projects. A comparison is also made between VOLTTRON and other related software. An actual implementation case of VOLTTRON is then presented in the case study. The demonstration uses the VOLTTRON platform as a message bus. Decentralized generators and consumers are simulated by 16 single-board computers.

Sina Mohammadi, Wayne Wang, Marcus Chen I Wada et al.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is driving unprecedented growth in data center (DC) scale and power demand. AI workloads impose highly dynamic, difficult-to-forecast power profiles on the utility grid, creating reliability and stability challenges that conventional DC architectures are not designed to address. This paper provides a critical review of energy storage systems (ESSs) as the key enabling technology for reliable grid integration of AI DCs. We organize the review around a four-layer hierarchical taxonomy, namely chip-level buffering, rack/server-level ESSs, facility-level uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems, and grid-scale battery energy storage systems (BESSs), supplemented by non-battery technologies including fuel cells (FCs) and thermal energy storage (TES). Each layer is analyzed with respect to response timescale, power and energy ratings, operational role, integration challenges, and coordination requirements. Key findings include: (i) AI DC load profiles differ fundamentally from traditional loads in their sub-second variability, making conventional ESS dispatch strategies insufficient; (ii) hierarchical, coordinated ESS deployment across all layers is necessary for effective load smoothing and grid support; and (iii) significant gaps remain in simulation tools, degradation modeling, load forecasting, and optimal multi-layer sizing. This review identifies open research challenges and future directions at the intersection of AI computing infrastructure and power system integration.

Quang Manh Hoang, Guilherme Vieira Hollweg, Bang Nguyen et al.

Modern machine learning approaches typically identify the impedance of a single inverter-based resource (IBR) and assume similar impedance characteristics across devices. In modern power systems, however, IBRs will employ diverse control topologies and algorithms, leading to highly heterogeneous impedance behaviors. Training one model per IBR is inefficient and does not scale. This paper proposes a scalable impedance identification framework for diverse IBRs via cluster-specialized neural networks. First, the dataset is partitioned into multiple clusters with similar feature profiles using the K-means clustering method. Then, each cluster is assigned a specialized feed-forward neural network (FNN) tailored to its characteristics, improving both accuracy and computational efficiency. In deployment, only a small number of measurements are required to predict impedance over a wide range of operating points. The framework is validated on six IBRs with varying control bandwidths, control structures, and operating conditions, and further tested on a previously unseen IBR using only ten measurement points. The results demonstrate high accuracy in both the clustering and prediction stages, confirming the effectiveness and scalability of the proposed method.

Rouzbeh Haghighi, Ali Hassan, Van-Hai Bui et al.

The rapid rise in electric vehicle (EV) adoption presents significant challenges in managing the vast number of retired EV batteries. Research indicates that second-life batteries (SLBs) from EVs typically retain considerable residual capacity, offering extended utility. These batteries can be effectively repurposed for use in EV charging stations (EVCS), providing a cost-effective alternative to new batteries and reducing overall planning costs. Integrating battery energy storage systems (BESS) with SLBs into EVCS is a promising strategy to alleviate system overload. However, efficient operation of EVCS with integrated BESS is hindered by uncertainties such as fluctuating EV arrival and departure times and variable power prices from the grid. This paper presents a deep reinforcement learning-based (DRL) planning framework for EV charging stations with BESS, leveraging SLBs. We employ the advanced soft actor-critic (SAC) approach, training the model on a year's worth of data to account for seasonal variations, including weekdays and holidays. A tailored reward function enables effective offline training, allowing real-time optimization of EVCS operations under uncertainty.

Shrenik Jadhav, Birva Sevak, Srijita Das et al.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading is becoming central to modern distribution systems as rooftop PV and home energy management systems become pervasive, yet most existing market and reinforcement learning designs emphasize efficiency or private profit and offer little real-time guidance to ensure equitable outcomes under uncertainty. To address this gap, a fairness-aware multiagent reinforcement learning framework, FairMarket-RL, is proposed in which a large language model (LLM) critic shapes bidding policies within a continuous double auction under partial observability and discrete price-quantity actions. After each trading slot, the LLM returns normalized fairness scores Fairness-to-Grid (FTG), Fairness-Between-Sellers (FBS), and Fairness-of-Pricing (FPP) that are integrated into the reward via ramped coefficients and tunable scaling, so that fairness guidance complements, rather than overwhelms, economic incentives. The environment models realistic residential load and PV profiles and enforce hard constraints on prices, physical feasibility, and policy-update stability. Across a progression of experiments from a small pilot to a larger simulated community and a mixed-asset real-world dataset, the framework shifts exchanges toward local P2P trades, lowers consumer costs relative to grid-only procurement, sustains strong fairness across participants, and preserves utility viability. Sensitivity analyses over solar availability and aggregate demand further indicate robust performance, suggesting a scalable, LLM-guided pathway to decentralized electricity markets that are economically efficient, socially equitable, and technically sound.

Shrenik Jadhav, Birva Sevak, Srijita Das et al.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) trading is increasingly recognized as a key mechanism for decentralized market regulation, yet existing approaches often lack robust frameworks to ensure fairness. This paper presents FairMarket-RL, a novel hybrid framework that combines Large Language Models (LLMs) with Reinforcement Learning (RL) to enable fairness-aware trading agents. In a simulated P2P microgrid with multiple sellers and buyers, the LLM acts as a real-time fairness critic, evaluating each trading episode using two metrics: Fairness-To-Buyer (FTB) and Fairness-Between-Sellers (FBS). These fairness scores are integrated into agent rewards through scheduled λ-coefficients, forming an adaptive LLM-guided reward shaping loop that replaces brittle, rule-based fairness constraints. Agents are trained using Independent Proximal Policy Optimization (IPPO) and achieve equitable outcomes, fulfilling over 90% of buyer demand, maintaining fair seller margins, and consistently reaching FTB and FBS scores above 0.80. The training process demonstrates that fairness feedback improves convergence, reduces buyer shortfalls, and narrows profit disparities between sellers. With its language-based critic, the framework scales naturally, and its extension to a large power distribution system with household prosumers illustrates its practical applicability. FairMarket-RL thus offers a scalable, equity-driven solution for autonomous trading in decentralized energy systems.

Hajir Pourbabak, Tao Chen, Bowen Zhang et al.

As a cutting-edge technology, microgrids feature intelligent EMSs and sophisticated control, which will dramatically change our energy infrastructure. The modern microgrids are a relatively recent development with high potential to bring distributed generation, DES devices, controllable loads, communication infrastructure, and many new technologies into the mainstream. As a more controllable and intelligent entity, a microgrid has more growth potential than ever before. However, there are still many open questions, such as the future business models and economics. What is the cost-benefit to the end-user? How should we systematically evaluate the potential benefits and costs of control and energy management in a microgrid?