Abstract
Modern distribution mechanisms within the smart grid paradigm are considered both reliable in nature and interconnected in topology. In this paper, a multiple-criteria-based sustainable planning (MCSP) approach is presented that serves as a future planning tool for interconnected distribution mechanisms and aims to find a feasible solution among conflicting criteria of various genres. The proposed methodology is based on three stages. In the stage 1, a weighted voltage stability index (VSI_W) and loss minimization condition (LMC) based approach aims at optimal asset optimization (sitting and sizing). In this stage, an evaluation of alternatives (solutions) is carried out across four dimensions (technical, economic, environmental, and social) of performance metrics. The assets considered in the evaluations include distributed generation (DG), renewable DGs, i.e., photovoltaic (PV), wind, and distributed static compensator (D-STATCOM) units. In the stage 2, various multicriteria decision-making (MCDM) methodologies are applied to ascertain the best trade-off among the available solutions in terms of techno-cost (economic) (TCPE), environment-o-social (ESPE), and techno-economic-environmental-socio (TEES) performance evaluations (OPE). In the stage 3, the alternatives are evaluated across multiple load growth horizons of 5 years each. The proposed MCSP approach is evaluated across a mesh-configured 33-bus active distribution network (ADN) and an actual NUST (which is a university in Islamabad, Pakistan) microgrid (MG), with various variants of load growth. The numerical findings of the proposed MCSP approach are compared with reported works the literature supports its validity and can serve as an important planning tool for interconnected distribution mechanisms for researchers and planning engineers.
Highlights
Worldwide electrical power demands have increased dramatically to meet the core requirements of modern societies
The assets considered in the evaluations included distributed generation (DG), renewable DGs, i.e., photovoltaic (PV), wind, and distributed static compensator (D-STATCOM) units
In the stage 2, various multi-criteria decision-making methodologies followed by unanimous decision-making scores were applied to ascertain the best trade-off among the available solutions in terms of overall (TEES) performance evaluations (OPE)
Summary
Worldwide electrical power demands have increased dramatically to meet the core requirements of modern societies. Among the three constituents of electrical power grids, namely generation, transmission, and distribution networks (DNs), the latter is pushed to operational limits, leading to technical and concerning issues of various kinds [1]. Competitive energy markets and deregulation regimes make it difficult to retain power grid performance, i.e., losses, voltage levels, and reliability indices, within an acceptable range. The DN paradigm has been deterministically designed to retain unidirectional power flow under radial topology, especially considering simple protection schemes and easy control [2]. Traditional planning tools typically applied to radial DN planning (DNP) might not remain feasible to address the concerning issues of interconnected DNs and modernized infrastructure-based distribution mechanisms
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