OSER—A Planning Tool for Power Systems Operation Simulation and for Impacts Evaluation of the Distributed Energy Resources on the Transmission System

Abstract

The rapid expansion of distributed energy resources and variable renewable energy is occurring in most utilities around the world, pertaining to the clean energy transition. These technologies have brought new challenges and opportunities to transmission grid planners. In this context, the planning process cannot continue to focus solely on the instant of the peak demand to make decisions regarding the evolution of the grid. The OSER simulator (Outil de simulation de l’exploitation du réseau) presented in this paper allows the planning engineers to consider operational and transversal aspects (transmission and distribution view) of the system. OSER is composed of several modules, each of which is related to different parts of the utility. The load, interconnection, and production modules prepare profiles for each substation, interconnection, and generating unit, respectively. The virtual operator module models the actions and mitigation means of the grid operators. These include the generation load balance, voltage, reactive power control, and interconnection management. Thereby, OSER can simulate the reaction of the transmission system for all relevant scenarios by using the guidance of the transmission system operator. The results obtained by simulation validate the performance of the OSER simulator by comparing them with historical data. This tool enables transmission grid planners to include non-wire alternatives in their planning process. Further work will be conducted to extend the simulation modes towards year-long and stochastic simulations for better planning robustness.