Silvia Lamonaca

Unbalanced Three-Phase Optimal Power Flow for Smart Grids

Advanced distribution management system (DMS), an evolution of supervisory control and data acquisition obtained by extending its working principles from transmission to distribution, is the brain of a smart grid. Advanced DMS assesses smart functions in the distribution system and is also responsible for assessing control functions such as reactive dispatch, voltage regulation, contingency analysis, capability maximization, or line switching. Optimal power flow (OPF)-based tools can be suitably adapted to the requirements of smart distribution network and be employed in an advanced DMS framework. In this paper, the authors present a methodology for unbalanced three-phase OPF (TOPF) for DMS in a smart grid. In the formulation of the TOPF, control variables of the optimization problem are actual active load demand and reactive power outputs of microgenerators. The TOPF is based on a quasi-Newton method and makes use of an open-source three-phase unbalanced distribution load flow. Test results are presented on the IEEE 123-bus Radial Distribution Feeder test case.

Integration of optimal reconfiguration tools in advanced distribution management system

The paper presents results of a smart grid project, currently on-going, in collaboration with an Italian electricity distribution company (DisCo). The project is aimed at defining new optimization tools to be integrated in the SCADA/DMS that is already implemented within the DisCo control center. In this paper, a DMS architecture that includes Optimal Network Reconfiguration (ONR) functions is presented. ONR, being based on data received through a metering infrastructure and a topology processor, can be performed not only for planning, but also in extended real-time during system operation. Test results are presented for two different operative problems and are carried out on a realistic sized model of a distribution network.

Operator Training Simulator for power systems: Training evaluation methodologies based on fuzzy logic

Operator training is a relevant aspect of power system operation. In control centers, operators manage the power system through a man machine interface that is a source of further complexity for this critical infrastructure. This paper presents an approach for improving the features of power system Operator Training Simulator (OTS). The OTS program is aimed at training control center operators through the simulation of possible contingency scenarios. The trainees, through simulations, learn to manage the power system during real-time operations and assess on-line dynamic security through the adoption of suitable corrective actions in emergency conditions. Usually, trainees learn only from the experience acquired during the simulation sessions. The OTS is also aimed at improving operator training by adding to the experiential learning the tacit knowledge acquired by senior control center operators. The tacit knowledge can be made explicit and transferred to trainees through well-suited OTS sessions including case studies based on past performed senior operator experiences. The proposed approach is aimed at defining a training evaluation methodology based on fuzzy logic able to reduce the gap between required knowledge and skills and the measured knowledge and skills of operators and to define improvements of each submitted training sessions.

Adaptive relaying to balance protection dependability with power system security

The 28 September 2003 blackout in Italy raised doubts about the ability of distance relays in distinguishing voltage collapse and remote short-circuits. The combined presence of reduced voltages and high power flows may trigger distance relays, with the consequent tripping of healthy lines, reducing the system survivability. The paper addresses an analysis of the behavior of distance protections during the sequence of events that led to the separation of the Italian network from the UCTE (Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity, nowadays updated to European Network of Transmission System Operator for Electricity – ENTSOE-E) power system. Preliminary studies aimed to develop an approach based on adapting relaying for mitigating the effects of cascading events, is presented. The under studying methodology allows to balance protection system dependability versus overall power system functional security. Preliminary test results are obtained by implementing this approach on a test case based on the Italian power system configuration.

Improving Energy Efficiency in a Power Park by the Integration of a Hydrogen Steam Reformer

This project aims at creating an energy park in the suburbs of the Italian town Bari. This energy district is located in an area devoted to social housing and close to some significant energy users (airport, hospital and other major facilities). The use of combined heat and power would allow to produce on-site electricity at low cost and it would allow to benefit of the heat produced from the generation process. The model towards which it stretches is a eco-compatible city, or an urban settlement in which the city activities develop in harmony with the environmental sustainability principles. In order to achieve this goal, the on-site production of hydrogen is implemented to push hydrogen-based public transportation by buses and shuttles. The integration of cogeneration/tri-generation with hydrogen steam reforming is the best practice we propose here. The heat from the exhausted gases of gas turbines is exploited to generate steam utilized in the hydrogen steam reformer. This design could lead to fuel savings of 30% in steam reforming. Moreover, the rational use of energy and sustainable urban mobility makes, more comfortable, the living and working spaces, and also it makes healthier, more efficient and attractive the entrepreneurial and professional new business in a popular district.

LabZERO, an interdisciplinary living laboratory for the promotion of renewables and energy efficiency

LabZERO is a multidisciplinary laboratory located at Politecnico di Bari and ENEA Centro Ricerche di Brindisi aimed to promote energy efficiency and renewables in both urban and industrial districts. The lab activities are oriented to provide fast-prototyping, instrumentation, methodologies and equipment for material characterization of new components in the field of energy efficiency, micro-generation, micro-grids, renewables, energy hubs, energy districts.

Power parks: A new paradigm for Clean Energy and Sustainable Mobility

This project aims at creating an energy park in the suburbs of Bari (Italy). This energy district is located in an area devoted to social housing and close to some significant energy users (airport, hospital, etc.). The use of combined heat and power would allow to produce on-site electricity at low cost and it would allow to benefit of the heat produced from the generation process. The on-site production of hydrogen is implemented to push hydrogen-based public transportation by buses and shuttles. The integration of cogeneration/trigeneration with hydrogen steam reforming is the best practice we propose here. The heat from the exhausted gases of gas turbines is exploited to generate steam utilized in the Hydrogen Steam Reformer. Moreover, the rational use of energy and sustainable urban mobility makes, more comfortable, the living and working spaces, and also it makes more attractive new business in a social housing district.