Review on Distribution Network Optimization under Uncertainty

Abstract

With the increase of renewable energy in electricity generation and increased engagement from demand sides, distribution network planning and operation face great challenges in the provision of stable, secure and dedicated service under a high level of uncertainty in network behaviors. Distribution network planning and operation, at the same time, also benefit from the changes of current and future distribution networks in terms of the availability of increased resources, diversity, smartness, controllability and flexibility of the distribution networks. This paper reviews the critical optimization problems faced by distribution planning and operation, including how to cope with these changes, how to integrate an optimization process in a problem-solving framework to efficiently search for optimal strategy and how to optimize sources and flexibilities properly in order to achieve cost-effective operation and provide quality of services as required, among other factors. This paper also discusses the approaches to reduce the heavy computation load when solving large-scale network optimization problems, for instance by integrating the prior knowledge of network configuration in optimization search space. A number of optimization techniques have been reviewed and discussed in the paper. This paper also discusses the changes, challenges and opportunities in future distribution networks, analyzes the possible problems that will be faced by future network planning and operations and discusses the potential strategies to solve these optimization problems.Keywords: distribution network optimization; flexibility exchange; demand side management; network planning and operation IntroductionDistribution networks face great challenges with the changes in current and future distribution networks, such as the inclusion of more green energy, installation of more controllable power electronic devices, differentiated power quality requirements from different customers and increased active engagement from customer sides. To provide stable and greener electricity and meet the requirements from various stakeholders, the network should properly plan and utilize the available network resources to meet the constraints, improve quality of services and reduce the operating cost. Proper planning/operation strategies enable the cost-effective running of the network and improved customer experience in using electricity or participating in network operation/management. Distribution planning and operation problems (such as the integration of more renewable energy, the utilization of flexibility resources and customer engagement for various purposes, etc.) can be tackled with appropriate definition of optimization problems and the use of properly tailored optimization techniques. The research on distribution system optimization can be broadly divided into two categories:(1) Planning: With the global trend of using more renewable energy to reduce emission, one of the challenges in distribution system planning nowadays is to integrate more distrib...

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