Rapid Feasibility Assessment of Energy Unit Integration in Distribution Networks

Abstract

In contemporary heavy-load distribution networks, preceding feasibility assessment is imperative before incorporating additional energy units. However, the feasibility examination for massive combined operational scenarios of relevant units is computationally intensive with repetitive power flow calculations. To this end, this paper proposes a rapid assessment framework, the kernel of which is to learn from formerly examined scenarios, thus forming expansive feasible/infeasible regions to geometrically rule in/out subsequent scenarios. By sidestepping the power flow computation in most scenarios, we accelerate the assessment process. Furthermore, enlightened by heuristic hypersurface search, such prechecking efficiency can be boosted by resorting the scenario sequence. In a risk-averse manner, this framework can be conceptualized using the exact grid model, though it is initially designed for the convex grid model. Evidenced by testing on two different-scale distribution grids, the framework shows a significant assessment efficiency improvement and strict accuracy guarantee, where we observe at least 76.13% assessment time reduction and zero accuracy loss. We anticipate this work to be a starting point for more sophisticated geometry-accelerating feasibility assessment methods.