Optimal placement, sizing, and dispatch of multiple BES systems on UK low voltage residential networks

As the penetration of renewable technologies on UK low voltage networks increases, the likelihood of line utilization and voltage violation rises. Whilst previous studies have examined the use of centrally controlled energy storage to manage violations, the economic feasibility of such methods are generally not considered. In this paper, a novel approach to the placement and dispatch of behind-the-meter battery energy storage for voltage and utilization control is presented. The placement strategy is formulated as a multi-period mixed integer linear programming (MILP) that allows for both variable and fixed size storage systems. The real time dispatch strategy is presented as a 2-stage convex linear programming (LP) heuristic that involves management of both real and reactive power, and incorporates ARIMA based generation forecasting methods to aid prediction of future generation, which is used to optimise for end user self-consumption, line loss reduction, storage efficiency loss reductions, and storage degradation minimisation. We apply both models to an unbalanced 3-phase openDSS model of a particularly sensitive LV feeder in the northwest of England, compare placements costs to the costs of reconductoring (which are calculated using a further novel MILP formulation), and use the real time dispatch strategy to identify self-consumption potential that cannot be determined from a placement calculation. We show that even with near ideal placement, costing, and control conditions, storage for voltage and utilization control at the 230 V level cannot compete economically with traditional means of reinforcement in the UK for our particular case study. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.