Secure High DER Penetration Power Distribution Via Autonomously Coordinated Volt/VAR Control

Traditionally voltage control in distribution power system (DPS) is performed through voltage regulating devices (VRDs) including on load tap changers (OLTCs), step voltage regulators (SVRs), and switched capacitor banks (SCBs). The recent IEEE 1547-2018 from March 2018 requires inverter fed distributed energy resources (DERs) to contribute reactive power to support the grid voltage. To accommodate VAR from DERs, well-organized control algorithm is required to use in this mode to avoid grid oscillations and unintended switching operations of VRDs. This paper presents two voltage control strategies (i) static voltage control considering voltage-reactive power mode (IEEE 1547-2018), (ii) dynamic and extensive voltage control with maximum utilization of DER capacity and system stability. Further, effective time-graded control is implemented between VRDs and DER units to reduce the simultaneous and negative operation. The proposed voltage control strategies are tested in a realistic 140-bus southern California distribution power system through extensive time-domain simulation studies. The results show that voltage quality in a distribution system is effectively achieved through the proposed voltage control strategies with a significantly reduction in the number of switching operations of VRDs. In addition, proposed voltage control strategies increase reliability and security of the DPS during unexpected failures

Smart Grid Communications: Overview of Research Challenges, Solutions, and Standardization Activities

Optimization of energy consumption in future intelligent energy networks (or Smart Grids) will be based on grid-integrated near-real-time communications between various grid elements in generation, transmission, distribution and loads. This paper discusses some of the challenges and opportunities of communications research in the areas of smart grid and smart metering. In particular, we focus on some of the key communications challenges for realizing interoperable and future-proof smart grid/metering networks, smart grid security and privacy, and how some of the existing networking technologies can be applied to energy management. Finally, we also discuss the coordinated standardization efforts in Europe to harmonize communications standards and protocols.Comment: To be published in IEEE Communications Surveys and Tutorial

Decentralized Greedy-Based Algorithm for Smart Energy Management in Plug-in Electric Vehicle Energy Distribution Systems

Variations in electricity tariffs arising due to stochastic demand loads on the power grids have stimulated research in finding optimal charging/discharging scheduling solutions for electric vehicles (EVs). Most of the current EV scheduling solutions are either centralized, which suffer from low reliability and high complexity, while existing decentralized solutions do not facilitate the efficient scheduling of on-move EVs in large-scale networks considering a smart energy distribution system. Motivated by smart cities applications, we consider in this paper the optimal scheduling of EVs in a geographically large-scale smart energy distribution system where EVs have the flexibility of charging/discharging at spatially-deployed smart charging stations (CSs) operated by individual aggregators. In such a scenario, we define the social welfare maximization problem as the total profit of both supply and demand sides in the form of a mixed integer non-linear programming (MINLP) model. Due to the intractability, we then propose an online decentralized algorithm with low complexity which utilizes effective heuristics to forward each EV to the most profitable CS in a smart manner. Results of simulations on the IEEE 37 bus distribution network verify that the proposed algorithm improves the social welfare by about 30% on average with respect to an alternative scheduling strategy under the equal participation of EVs in charging and discharging operations. Considering the best-case performance where only EV profit maximization is concerned, our solution also achieves upto 20% improvement in flatting the final electricity load. Furthermore, the results reveal the existence of an optimal number of CSs and an optimal vehicle-to-grid penetration threshold for which the overall profit can be maximized. Our findings serve as guidelines for V2G system designers in smart city scenarios to plan a cost-effective strategy for large-scale EVs distributed energy management

Prospects of electric vehicles in the developing countries : a literature review

Electric mobility offers a low cost of travel along with energy and harmful emissions savings. Nevertheless, a comprehensive literature review is missing for the prospects of electric vehicles in developing countries. Such an overview would be instrumental for policymakers to understand the barriers and opportunities related to different types of electric vehicles (EVs). Considering the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines, a systematic review was performed of the electronic databases Google Scholar and Web of Science for the years 2010–2020. The electric four-wheelers, hybrid electric vehicles and electric two-wheeler constituted the electric vehicles searched in the databases. Initially, 35 studies identified in the Web of Science that matched the criteria were studied. Later, 105 other relevant reports and articles related to barriers and opportunities were found by using Google Scholar and studied. Results reveal that electric four-wheelers are not a feasible option in developing countries due to their high purchase price. On the contrary, electric two-wheelers may be beneficial as they come with a lower purchase price

Multipath Routing of Fragmented Data Transfer in a Smart Grid Environment

The purpose of this paper is to do a general survey on the existing communication modes inside a smart grid, the existing security loopholes and their countermeasures. Then we suggest a detailed countermeasure, building upon the Jigsaw based secure data transfer [8] for enhanced security of the data flow inside the communication system of a smart grid. The paper has been written without the consideration of any factor of inoperability between the various security techniques inside a smart gridComment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Smart Grid for the Smart City

Modern cities are embracing cutting-edge technologies to improve the services they offer to the citizens from traffic control to the reduction of greenhouse gases and energy provisioning. In this chapter, we look at the energy sector advocating how Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and signal processing techniques can be integrated into next generation power grids for an increased effectiveness in terms of: electrical stability, distribution, improved communication security, energy production, and utilization. In particular, we deliberate about the use of these techniques within new demand response paradigms, where communities of prosumers (e.g., households, generating part of their electricity consumption) contribute to the satisfaction of the energy demand through load balancing and peak shaving. Our discussion also covers the use of big data analytics for demand response and serious games as a tool to promote energy-efficient behaviors from end users