Stochastic Expansion Planning of Various Energy Storage Technologies in Active Power Distribution Networks

This work aims to minimize the cost of installing renewable energy resources (photovoltaic systems) as well as energy storage systems (batteries), in addition to the cost of operation over a period of 20 years, which will include the cost of operating the power grid and the charging and discharging of the batteries. To this end, we propose a long-term planning optimization and expansion framework for a smart distribution network. A second order cone programming (SOCP) algorithm is utilized in this work to model the power flow equations. The minimization is computed in accordance to the years (y), seasons (s), days of the week (d), time of the day (t), and different scenarios based on the usage of energy and its production (c). An IEEE 33-bus balanced distribution test bench is utilized to evaluate the performance, effectiveness, and reliability of the proposed optimization and forecasting model. The numerical studies are conducted on two of the highest performing batteries in the current market, i.e., Lithium-ion (Li-ion) and redox flow batteries (RFBs). In addition, the pros and cons of distributed Li-ion batteries are compared with centralized RFBs. The results are presented to showcase the economic profits of utilizing these battery technologies.