Universidad Pontificia Comillas. Madrid (Spain)
November 16th, 2023
Summary:
Key to a successful energy transition will be the effective integration of distributed energy resources and new flexibility providers into the energy system. However, the distribution grid, which was built several decades ago to connect transmission lines to end users, was not designed for this purpose. Major changes are therefore needed. Enabling these changes requires a fundamental shift in how electricity distribution systems are designed, operated and planned. At present, there is a lack of comprehensive planning tools to assist operators in their investment planning options. Consequently, reinforcements of conventional network assets are typical solutions implemented. This thesis proposes a set of methodologies to obtain cost-optimal distribution network expansion plans for realistic large-scale networks, using both conventional expansion measures and flexibility contracting from demand response. These methodologies, along with corresponding case studies, are presented sequentially, starting with those for single-stage planning problems, progressing to multistage planning, and finally covering single-stage and multistage planning under uncertainty. The optimisation problem is very complex due to the nonlinearity of the constraints, the combinatorial nature of the problem, the size of the network and the associated number of decision variables. To solve the optimisation problem, the Tabu Search metaheuristic was implemented in the single-stage model, which is the core of all other models. The case study has shown that flexibility can be an efficient alternative to conventional expansion measures, resulting in significant cost savings in single-stage distribution network planning. The multi-stage model is based on a pseudo-dynamic planning approach called forward fill-in. This approach is shown to be effective in accounting for the time value of money and hence cost savings from deferring network investments, as well as the value of flexibility contracts in distribution network planning. Finally, the value of flexibility in distribution network planning under uncertainty is also highlighted, based on the case study using the developed multistage multi-scenario methodology.
Descriptors: Energy, Electricity, Operations research
Citation:
D. Ziegler (2023), Long-term active distribution network planning with high shares of distributed energy resources. Universidad Pontificia Comillas. Madrid (Spain).
