Probabilistic Resilience Enhancement of Active Distribution Networks Against Wildfires Using Hybrid Energy Storage Systems

Abstract

Wildfires pose significant threats to the resilience of distribution systems. Furthermore, the phenomenon of global warming is further intensifying their contribution to power outages. Thus, enhancing distribution system resilience against wildfires remains an area of active research. This work presents a probabilistic approach to evaluate the spatio-temporal probability of wildfire occurrence using historical Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI) data, and its impact on distribution lines and distributed energy resources (DERs) in active distribution networks (ADNs). To enhance system resilience, the deployment of hybrid energy storage systems (HESSs) is assessed, and their effectiveness in mitigating wildfire-induced disruptions is quantified. Furthermore, the proposed probabilistic methodology is compared with two deterministic approaches to demonstrate its superior capability in assessing wildfire risk and resilience improvement. The approach is suitable for large-scale geographical applications, providing a practical framework for resilience assessment and HESS-based mitigation planning in ADNs.