Abstract
This paper investigates the planning and operational processes of modern distribution networks hosting distributed energy resources (DERs). While in the past the two aspects have been distinct, a methodology is proposed in this paper to co-optimise the two phases by considering the operational flexibility offered by DERs already in the planning phase. By employing AC optimal power flow (OPF) to analyse the worst-case scenarios for the load and distributed generator injection, the optimal set-points for the DERs are determined such that the network’s security is ensured. From these results, the optimised individual characteristic curves are then extracted for each DER which are used in the operational phase for the local control of the devices. The optimised controls use only local measurements to address system-wide issues and emulate the OPF solution without any communication. Finally, the proposed methodology is tested on the Cigre LV benchmark grid confirming that it is successful in mitigating with acceptable violations over- and under-voltage problems, as well as congestion issues. Its performance is compared against the OPF-based approach and currently employed local control schemes.
