  Increasing penetrations of distributed energy resources (DERs) and responsive
loads (RLs) in the electric power distribution systems calls for a mechanism
for joint supply-demand coordination. Recently, several transactive/bilateral
coordination mechanisms have been proposed for the distribution-level
coordination of flexible resources. Implementing a transactive market
coordination approach requires a secure, reliable, and computationally
efficient multi-agent platform. An example of such a platform is VOLTTRON,
developed by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratories (PNNL). The VOLTTRON
platform allows the market actors to exchange information and execute proper
control actions in a decentralized way. This paper aims to provide a
proof-of-concept of the transactive market coordination approach via a
small-scale demonstration on the VOLTTRON platform. The steps needed to
implement the proposed market architecture using virtual machines and VOLTTRON
are thoroughly described, and illustrative examples are provided to show the
market-clearing process for different scenarios.
