A scenario-based approach for storage capacity determination to improve the hosting capacity of distribution systems

Abstract

The penetration level of distributed energy resources (DERs) has been increasing rapidly in distribution systems. There are many reasons for increasing penetration of DERs, such as the political will to decrease the dependency to the fossil fuels, their carbon dioxide emission, as well as users’ attempt to become self-sufficient. However, the capacity of distribution systems to accommodate DERs is bounded by technical issues such as power quality, over-voltage, and overloading. Thus, an important question is how can distribution systems accommodate more DERs without adverse effects on prosumers and network performance, while remaining cost-competitive? One of the methods that can be used by distribution system operators (DSOs) to increase the hosting capacity of their systems is using the community energy storages. Given this, in this chapter, we propose a method for determining the minimum required energy storage to increase the HC of a system to a certain level. The proposed method is based on an optimization problem aiming to maximize the injected power in the system while minimizing the active power curtailment. The optimization model is the core part of a probabilistic framework, which is designed to address the uncertainties associated with the loads as well as the location and output power of DERs. The outcomes of this framework are the minimum required power and energy capacity rating to increase the HC of the system. The efficacy of the proposed method is examined on an agricultural distribution system in Australia. First, the required energy storage is identified using the proposed method. Then, an economic analysis is carried out to assess the feasibility of the obtained energy storage by using the total costs of the required curtailed energy as the base case. Further, the impact of DER technology (i.e., photovoltaics and wind) on the size of required energy storage is assessed.