New Electricity Distribution Network Planning Approaches for Integrating Renewables

The electricity distribution business is experiencing a tremendous and challenging transformation. The use of renewable energy sources is moving generation from the top to the bottom of power systems, where traditionally only loads existed. Active demand, distribution energy-storage devices, and electric vehicles are going to change even more drastically the way the distribution system will be operated. Finally, several stakeholders will share the responsibility for system operation while they often pursue opposite objectives. In contrast to conventional approaches, modern distribution planning algorithms should emulate the new environment to produce expansion and strategic plans for guiding the evolution of system in times of financial restrictions. Probabilistic methods are necessary to capture the intrinsically stochastic behavior of renewable generation, whereas the multiobjective programming is recognized to be the most effective way for planning, transparently and objectively, the system evolution, taking into account the multiple needs of different stakeholders. Finally, the integration of smart grid operation within planning algorithms is the key point for a proper distribution planning that allows integrating renewable resources andminimizing the cost for new electrical infrastructures.