Renewable power generation employed in an integrated dynamic distribution network expansion planning

The recent developments in green energy technologies and the importance of using clean energies have made the renewable resources more attractive for distribution network operators, specifically due to their inexhaustible and non-polluting features. In this way, the present study initiates an integrated dynamic distribution network expansion planning (DDNEP) in which most of the planning alternatives along with renewable and non-renewable distributed generation (DG) are taken into account. The proposed framework considers the important cost terms, including both the investment and operational ones. The uncertainties regarding the intermittent nature of renewable DGs, load demand, and energy price have been well-regarded in calculating the cost components. With the aim of a precise calculation of operation and interruption costs, the load duration curve (LDC) has been established for modeling of the network loads. Moreover, both the possibility of operating the DG units in islanding mode, and, the load transferring through the reserve feeders have been interrogated in the problem in order to improve the network reliability. In the present research, to provide an accurate evaluation of reliability indices, and to cover all of the uncertainty states, the required conditions for the successful and safe operation of island have been suitably studied in the problem. In numerical evaluations, a combination of improved genetic algorithm (IGA) and optimal power flow (OPF) is employed to solve the integrated problem in the 54-bus test system. The obtained results are discussed in details. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.