Geometry of power flows and convex-relaxed power flows in distribution networks with high penetration of renewables

AbstractRenewable energies are increasingly integrated in electric distribution networks and will cause severe overvoltage issues. Smart grid technologies make it possible to use coordinated control to mitigate the overvoltage issues and the optimal power flow (OPF) method is proven to be efficient in the applications such as curtailment management and reactive power control. Nonconvex nature of the OPF makes it difficult to solve and convex relaxation is a promising method to solve the OPF very efficiently. This paper investigates the geometry of the power flows and the convex-relaxed power flows when high penetration level of renewables is present in the distribution networks. The geometry study helps understand the fundamental nature of the OPF and its convex-relaxed problem, such as the second-order cone programming (SOCP) problem. A case study based on a three-node system is used to illustrate the geometry profile of the feasible sub-injection (injection of nodes excluding the root/substation node) region

Review of Congestion Management Methods for Distribution Networks with High Penetration of Distributed Energy Resources

This paper reviews the existing congestion management methods for distribution networks with high penetration of DERs documented in the recent research literatures. The congestion management methods for distribution networks reviewed can be grouped into two categories – market methods and direct control methods. The market methods consist of dynamic tariff, distribution capacity market, shadow price and flexible service market. The direct control methods are comprised of network reconfiguration, reactive power control and active power control. Based on the review of the existing methods, the authors suggest a priority list of the existing methods

Day-Ahead Energy Planning with 100% Electric Vehicle Penetration in the Nordic Region by 2050

This paper presents the day-ahead energy planning of passenger cars with 100% electric vehicle (EV) penetration in the Nordic region by 2050. EVs will play an important role in the future energy systems which can both reduce the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the transport sector and provide the demand side flexibility required by smart grids. On the other hand, the EVs will increase the electricity consumption. In order to quantify the electricity consumption increase due to the 100% EV penetration in the Nordic region to facilitate the power system planning studies, the day-ahead energy planning of EVs has been investigated with different EV charging scenarios. Five EV charging scenarios have been considered in the energy planning analysis which are: uncontrolled charging all day, uncontrolled charging at home, timed charging, spot price based charging all day and spot price based charging at home. The demand profiles of the five charging analysis show that timed charging is the least favorable charging option and the spot priced based EV charging might induce high peak demands. The EV charging demand will have a considerable share of the energy consumption in the future Nordic power system