A VSM-Based DER Dispatch MINLP for Volt-VAR Control in Unbalanced Power Distribution Systems

Conference · Thu Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 2019 · 2019 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting (PESGM)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/pesgm40551.2019.8973721· OSTI ID:2329497

McEntee, Catie ^[1]; Mulcahy, David; Wang, Jiyu; Zhu, Xiangqi; Lu, Ning

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1. North Carolina State University

This paper presents an optimal dispatch algorithm to coordinate customer-owned controllable loads and smart solar inverters with utility-owned voltage regulators and capacitors to meet voltage control objectives. The optimization problem is formulated as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem. A voltage sensitivity matrix (VSM) is used to linearize the effect of control actions on the voltage at customer nodes when solving the MINLP. The VSM is recalculated at each time step to improve the computational accuracy. Both discrete switching actions of the capacitor and VRs and the continuous adjustment of real and reactive power from load and smart inverters are considered in the MINLP volt-var problem formulation. The objective function minimizes the cost of all control actions and the magnitude of voltage fluctuations from the previous time period. Constraints ensure that the voltage at each node is maintained within ANSI limits and the feeder power factor is controlled within the desired range. The algorithm is tested using an actual 3-phase unbalanced distribution feeder model. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm is computationally feasible on real circuits and improves voltage control while minimizing operational costs.

• Research Organization: North Carolina State University
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Renewable Power Office. Solar Energy Technologies Office
• DOE Contract Number: EE0008770
• OSTI ID: 2329497
• Conference Information: Journal Name: 2019 IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting (PESGM)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English