Eduard Bullich-Massagué

Architecture definition and operation testing of local electricity markets. The EMPOWER project

This article describes the results of the European Project Empower. This project is about the creation of a trading platform for local energy exchange in local markets. To do so, a system architecture is proposed, based on the Smart Grid Architecture Model (SGAM). The implementation of the developed platform has been tested in the Prosumer Lab environment. The Prosumer Lab is an installation at the UPC that permits to emulate different use cases by the means of power electronics. The tests showed a successful integration of the software and hardware for the project purpose.

Optimization of Surge Arrester Locations in Overhead Distribution Networks

Lightning is considered one of the main causes of faults in overhead distribution networks. Direct strokes usually lead to flashovers due to the insulation levels that are used. Induced overvoltages caused by indirect lightning are usually lower and can be efficiently reduced by metal-oxide surge arresters. Hence, its associated flashover rate can be reduced. In this paper, a heuristic method is proposed to optimize the number of surge arresters as well as their locations. The method presented is based on genetic algorithms and an economic approach is taken into account by means of evaluating the cost of insulation flashover.