Advanced metering infrastructure and energy storage for location and mitigation of power quality disturbances in the utility grid with high penetration of renewables

Abstract

Microgrids with renewable power are becoming a widespread alternative for decarbonizing the electrical sector in light of climate change and global warming. However, such widespread penetration of renewables degrades some parameters of power quality along the low voltage utility grid. This research conducts an experiment with an advanced metering infrastructure of a power utility grid with hundreds of thousands of smart grid devices. The experiment identifies the location of the power quality disturbances. The results of the measurements have shown that the power quality parameters are mainly degraded along the downstream section of the low voltage power utility grid, despite the fulfillment of the regulatory quality requirements in the upstream high voltage substation. Thus, the novelty of the approach presented in the paper consists in the use of relatively low capacity energy storage units to locally mitigate the power quality disturbances, keeping them as close as possible to their source in the low voltage grid, instead of using large energy storage units connected to the medium voltage grid. Moreover, the research evaluated the parameters of power capacity, charge–discharge rate, weight, size, and the Levelized Cost Of Energy (LCOE) implemented with five types of energy storage technology. Lithium-Ion Capacitor (LIC) presents the lowest LCOE. However, service type and location parameters also play an essential role in selecting other different types of energy storage technology.This research shows that locating small energy storage units close to the source of power quality disturbance is cost-effective and offers excellent potential for widespread implementation in the low voltage distribution grid.