Abstract
The integration of large amounts of generation into distribution networks faces some limitations. By deploying reactive power-based voltage control concepts (e.g., volt/var control with distributed generators), the voltage rise caused by generators can be partly mitigated. As a result, the network hosting capacity can be accordingly increased, and costly network reinforcement might be avoided or postponed. This works however only for voltage-constrained feeders (opposed to current-constrained feeders). Due to the low level of monitoring in low voltage networks, it is important to be able to classify feeders according to the expected constraint in order to avoid the overloading risk. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate to which extent it is possible to predict the hosting capacity constraint (voltage or current) of low voltage feeders on the basis of a large network data set. Two machine-learning techniques have been implemented and compared: clustering (unsupervised) and classification (supervised). The results show that the general performance of the classification or clustering algorithms might be considered as rather poor at a first glance, reflecting the diversity of real low voltage feeders. However, a detailed analysis shows that the benefit of the classification is significant.
Highlights
In order to meet long-term objectives in terms of CO2 emissions reduction and supply security, the share of renewable generation in the European electricity mix has been steadily growing in the last 10–15 years and must increase further
The main two constraints that usually limit the amount of generation that can be hosted by distribution feeders are the maximum admissible voltage and currents
The main purpose of this paper is to investigate to which extent it is possible to predict the behavior of LV feeders in terms of hosting capacity constraint on the basis of a large set of real LV feeders
Summary
In order to meet long-term objectives in terms of CO2 emissions reduction and supply security, the share of renewable generation in the European electricity mix has been steadily growing in the last 10–15 years and must increase further. Wind and solar photovoltaic (PV) power have established themselves as ones of the most promising renewable energy resources, providing a non-negligible share of the overall generation in some regions. This renewable generation has been integrated at the transmission level for the largest wind parks or at distribution level, for most of wind and PV generation. The voltage rise caused by the power infeed from distributed generators is often considered as one of the most limiting constraints [2] Having recognised this problem, connection standards or guidelines have been published in most European countries (e.g., [3,4,5] in Germany and Austria). Besides specifying clear and transparent rules to assess the connection of generation to the distribution network, these guidelines have introduced new possibilities
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