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The power grid is transforming with large amounts of distributed energy resource (DER) integration that is impacting the bulk power system planning and operations. Grid regulators have identified that traditional power system analysis techniques are challenged under the changing grid conditions. Transmission and distribution (T&D) co-simulation is an effective methodology to accurately account for the changing power-grid. A scalable multitimescale T&D (SMTD) co-simulation framework is developed with commercial transmission system solver that can handle large-scale system models, and distribution system solver that can model the distribution systems in detail with dynamic models of load and DER. In this article, PSS/E and GridLAB-D are combined using a Python interface with Hierarchical Engine for Large-scale Infrastructure Co-Simulation software to enable T&D co-simulation. This framework is scalable and parallel computing compatible that enables large-scale system simulation and adoption of T&D co-simulation by the industry and utilities. The SMTD cosimulator is designed to integrate with existing system models and new ones. The article also highlights functional specifications for the T&D co-simulation solvers and models along with providing the algorithms for the steady state, quasi-steady state, and dynamic T&D co-simulation. In context of changing power grid, future power grid planning, validation of controls under critical contingencies and validation of various wide area monitoring and controls can effectively utilize the proposed framework that can capture the T&D interactions accurately. The SMTD cosimulator can also be used to generate realistic synthetic measurement-data with noise and packet drop for uncommon grid events enabling development and validation of power system data analytics and controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-voltage direct current (HVDC) systems are increasingly incorporated into today's AC power grids, necessitating optimal power flow (OPF) tools for the analysis, planning, and operation of such hybrid systems. To this end, we introduce hynet, a Python-based open-source OPF framework for hybrid AC/DC grids with point-to-point and radial multi-terminal HVDC systems. hynet's design promotes ease of use and extensibility, which is supported by the particular mathematical model and software design presented in this paper. The system model features a unified representation of AC and DC subgrids as well as a concise and flexible converter model, which enable the compact description of a hybrid AC/DC power system and its OPF problem. To support convex relaxation based OPF solution techniques, a state space relaxation is introduced to obtain a unified OPF formulation that is analogous to the OPF of AC power systems. This enables the direct generalization of relaxation-related results for AC grids to hybrid AC/DC grids, which is shown for the semidefinite and second-order cone relaxation as well as associated results on exactness and locational marginal prices. Finally, hynet's object-oriented software design is discussed, which provides extensibility via inheritance and standard design patterns, and its robust and competitive performance is illustrated with case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Submarine cables are indispensable for offshore wind farms (OWFs) connected to a power grid. The submarine cable can cause certain degrees of impact on the system performance due to its different lengths, characteristics, electrical parameters, etc. This paper employs the power-system simulation software of Power System Simulator for Engineering (PSS/E) for modeling a future-scheduled OWF, i.e., a large-scale doubly-fed induction generator-based OWF of 200 MW, connected to Jang-Bin distribution substation of Taiwan Power System through five feeders, five circuit breakers, two step-up power transformers, a commercial submarine cable, and an underground cable. This paper simulates and compares the electrical quantities of the studied OWF with different operating capacities under various lengths of three types of commercial submarine cable. The transient surge peak voltages at the common bus of the OWF and the bus of Jang-Bin distribution substation subject to the switching of one of the five circuit breakers of the studied OWF under different lengths of the three types of commercial submarine cable are also compared using the power-system simulation software of ATPDraw in Alternative Transients Program (ATP) version of Electromagnetic Transients Program (EMTP). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measurements from the on-board systems of marine vessels are increasingly available for data analysis and are growing in importance as the ship industry enters a phase of digitalization. The purposes of the data analysis from vessels in operation include the verification of the power system design in general and improvement of the electrical power load analysis in particular. In this paper, we show how to extract valuable information from the data-driven operational profile analysis, which reveals the real power demand, and how the vessel was operated. Using the real power range analysis, we emphasize the significance of rarely occurring high power demands, which are critical for power system design and optimization. We propose a methodology for the quantification of variability in the generated power, which explains the tails of probability distributions of a power signal based on signal decomposition. The proposed methodology makes use of the data and it can facilitate the selection of the optimal size, number, and configuration of generators or batteries when designing new power systems. Measurements from a data collection system are used to demonstrate the methodology for dynamic positioning mode of the operation of a platform supply vessel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a comprehensive dynamic-phasor-based small-signal model for the modular multilevel converter (MMC) system under unbalanced grid conditions, which takes into consideration the dynamics of the MMC system under a balanced grid condition as well as the other emerging internal harmonics produced by the unbalanced grid components and more complex controllers. The small-signal model is validated by comparing the time-domain responses from a detailed electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulation in PSCAD/EMTDC. Based on the eigen-analysis and PSCAD-based time-domain simulation studies, this paper reveals the poorly damped modes that cause unstable oscillations in MMC system under the unbalanced grid conditions. From the results, more poorly damped modes involved in the internal harmonics are emerging under unbalanced grid conditions compared with the modes under the balanced grid conditions, and can highly impact the system dynamic behaviors by the selection of the control parameters. It is also shown that, under the unbalanced grid conditions, the feasible region of the control parameters of the vector current control gets narrowed indicating the reduction of the stability margin, smaller (larger) value of proportional (integral) gain of the circulating current suppressing controller can enhance the system stability, and larger values of the proportional and integral gains of the negative-sequence current suppressing control can result in the harmonic instability of the MMC system. Besides, the parameters of multiple complex-coefficient filters for positive- and negative-sequence components extraction also have a big impact on the small-signal stability of the MMC system and are required to be properly selected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the use of large electric grids in university electric power system courses. Since much actual power system information is not publicly available, the application of public domain synthetic grids developed by the authors is presented including a 2000-bus grid. Discussion of the educational applications utilized in a senior level class are given for power flow analysis and sensitivity, economic dispatch, contingency analysis, optimal power flow (OPF), security-constrained OPF, transient stability, and real-time dynamic operations. In each of these, the application of the large synthetic grids give students insights and experience with cases closer to actual power systems in complexity and size. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes a new adaptive approach to power system model reduction for fast and accurate time-domain simulation. This new approach is a compromise between linear model reduction for faster simulation and nonlinear model reduction for better accuracy. During the simulation period, the approach adaptively switches among detailed and linearly or nonlinearly reduced models based on variations of the system state: it employs unreduced models for the fault-on period, uses weighted column norms of the admittance matrix to decide which functions to be linearized in power system differential-algebraic equations for large changes of the state, and adopts a linearly reduced model for small changes of the state. Two versions of the adaptive model reduction approach are introduced. The first version uses traditional power system partitioning where the model reduction is applied to a defined large external area in a power system and the other area defined as the study area keeps full detailed models. The second version applies the adaptive model reduction to the whole system. The paper also conducts comprehensive case studies comparing simulation results using the proposed adaptively reduced models with the linearly reduced model and coherency-based reduced model on the Northeast Power Coordinating Council 140-bus 48-machine system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The system frequency response (SFR) model describes the average network frequency response after a disturbance and has been applied to a wide variety of dynamic studies. However, the traditional literature does not provide a generic, analytical method for obtaining the SFR model parameters when the system contains multiple generators; instead, a numerical simulation-based approach or the operators’ experience is the common practice to obtain an aggregated model. In this paper, an analytical method is proposed for aggregating the multi-machine SFR model into a single-machine model. The verification study indicates that the proposed aggregated SFR model can accurately represent the multi-machine SFR model. Furthermore, the detailed system simulation illustrates that the SFR model can also accurately represent the average frequency response of large systems for power system dynamic studies. Finally, three applications of the proposed method are explored, with system frequency control, frequency stability, and dynamic model reduction. The results show the method is promising with broad potential applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interarea power oscillation damping enhancement in large interconnected power systems is often accomplished using supplementary controls at the synchronous machines involved and with the use of flexible ac transmission system devices. The power system literature has demonstrated that wide area signals could be more effective than the local signals for these controllers. In some cases where phasor measurement units are used, all the required control signals may not be available. To alleviate these cases, control signals are obtained using estimated signals from a “dynamic state estimator,” and a robust supplementary controller is deployed. In this paper, the cited strategy is illustrated using a static var compensator. The feasibility of the proposed method has been demonstrated on the IEEE 50-generator test system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power system simulation is an important means to study the dynamic behavior, to ensure the safety and stability, and to optimize the operation of a power grid. Pure physical simulation and digital simulation have their own advantages and disadvantages. A three-phase four-wire hybrid simulation platform integrating the advantages of both the digital simulation and physical simulation is developed by combining the physical simulation system and real-time digital simulator. The platform is rated at 400 V and 50 kVA with the short-circuit capacity of 500 kVA and can supply ten times the rated current to support the simulation of various short-circuit faults. An improved interface algorithm based on an ideal transformer model is proposed to extend the stability region of a hybrid simulation. Hybrid simulation experiments are conducted under two cases, and the comparison with the digital simulation demonstrates the performance of this platform and the potential applied to a modern power system. This platform has been equipped in a key laboratory of smart power grid technology. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Rooftop photovoltaic (PV) hosting capacity has become a concern for utilities in scenarios of high penetration due to impacts on voltage quality, such as over/undervoltage and voltage unbalance, and on equipment loading (conductors and transformers). This paper uses a simplified Monte Carlo-based method to analyze this issue, which is applied to 50 000 real low-voltage (LV) systems. Results show that it is possible to perform a risk-based analysis of hosting capacity by means of a lognormal distribution. Furthermore, overvoltage is found to be the most restrictive impact of PV integration; such information can help to guide utility actions to avoid technical violations. Extensive sensitivity studies are also presented to quantify the effects of several factors on the PV hosting capacity. The effects of number of customers with PV generators, PV power factor, voltage magnitude on the medium-voltage system, load level, and conductor impedances are investigated. It is also shown that the hosting capacity for the entire utility can be estimated by performing simulations only on 1% of the circuits randomly selected. In addition to providing a comprehensive overview of PV hosting capacity in real systems, the method can be used by utilities to improve the management of LV systems with high PV penetration. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

POWER plants are subject to introduce disturbances in the power grid, resulting from interactions with the dynamical behavior of the energy source subsystem. In the case of hydropower plants when used to compensate for variations of power generation and consumption, instabilities or undesirable disturbances may arise. They may be caused by phenomena such as part load vortex rope pulsations in the draft tube of Francis turbines. This may affect the dynamical behavior of the power plant and lead to troublesome interactions with the grid. This paper presents a case study of an existing hydropower plant that illustrates the effects of pressure pulsations due to vortex rope precession on the draft tube of Francis turbines. It also showcases possible solutions to the mitigation of the effects of this disturbing hydraulic phenomenon over the operation of the generators and electrical system. The investigated system is a 1-GW hydropower plant (4 × 250 MW units). The assessment of the power swings is performed through modal analysis combined with frequency-domain and time-domain simulations, which are then compared with onsite measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generic electrical simulation models of wind power generation have been developed as standards, such as the IEC 61400-27-1, to be used by wind industry, system operators, and academia for power system stability studies. In this paper, the IEC type 3 wind turbine model with wind turbine level voltage controller and with wind power plant level power factor controller is validated based on field measurements from a 52-MW wind power plant. In addition to the validation of the IEC type 3 wind turbine and wind power plant controller models, a comparison of the validation approaches, which are the full grid and play-back simulation, is provided together with a survey of the existing validation studies and recommendations for future modeling and validation tasks. The implemented IEC models are tuned to match the measurements accurately and the validated values for the control parameters of the reference wind power plant model are given. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

DC faults in HVDC grids lead to quickly increasing currents which should be interrupted sufficiently fast to prevent damage to power-electronics components. Although several primary relaying algorithms for HVDC grids have been proposed, fast backup relaying algorithms are needed to ensure system reliability when primary protection fails. This paper proposes a local backup relaying algorithm for HVDC grids, which leads to a short delay between primary and backup protective actions. The proposed algorithm, consisting of breaker and relay failure subsystems, uses classifiers which detect primary protection malfunctions based on the voltage and current waveforms associated with dc breaker operation. The algorithm initiates the detection of uncleared faults during primary protection operation, which results in accelerated actions by the backup protection after primary protection failure. The proposed algorithm is applied to a four-terminal HVDC grid. Study results show that the proposed algorithm accurately detects uncleared faults, identifies the source of primary protection malfunction, and expedites backup protective actions by operating during the fault current interruption interval of the primary protection. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a new approach in adaptive out-of-step (OOS) protection settings in power systems in real time. The proposed method uses extended equal area criterion (EEAC) to determine the critical clearing time and critical clearing angle of the system, which are vital information for the OOS protection setting calculation. The dynamic model parameters and the coherency groups of the system for EEAC analysis are determined in real time to ensure that the newly calculated settings suit with the prevalent system operating condition. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated in simulated data from a 16-machine 68-bus system model. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A challenge raised in today's power system is assessing the system protection security and dependability after the topology has been changed due to relay operation upon the occurrence of cascading faults or intentional operator switching action. This paper proposes an automated setting calculation module which could be used to review the adequacy of the distance relay settings following network topology changes. The calculation procedure is broken down into blocks which could be processed in parallel in order to improve the computation speed. A new concept called distance of impact is proposed to reduce the computational burden by conducting the calculations on a limited portion of the network affected by the topology change. The module performance is tested on a synthetic IEEE 118-bus and real-life Alberta transmission operator systems. A sensitivity analysis in the form of N-2 contingency impact on the network relay settings coordination is conducted on the test systems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Synchronization with the power system is an essential part of control of grid-connected converters. This paper proposes a grid-voltage sensorless synchronization and control scheme for a converter equipped with an LCL filter, measuring only the converter currents and the dc voltage. A discrete-time pole-placement design method is used to formulate an adaptive full-order observer for the estimation of the frequency, angle, and magnitude of the grid voltage. The proposed discrete-time design method enables straightforward implementation and suits low sampling rates better than its continuous-time counterpart. The analytically derived design is experimentally validated, and the results demonstrate rapid convergence of the estimated quantities. Moreover, the experimental tests show that grid-voltage sensorless operation is possible under balanced and unbalanced grid disturbances and distorted grid conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A method of modifying existing grid-connected inverter models for use in droop-controlled microgrids is presented. The modification involves combination with a model of a grid-forming inverter to accurately represent the coupling between complex power, bus voltage, and frequency. The combination is performed after the individual models are linearized, adding little in terms of computational complexity. The method is applicable to any three-phase inverter operating in a grid-supporting capacity and is scalable for any number of parallel inverters at the same point of connection. To examine the modification process and its effect on model performance, a generic grid-tied inverter model is derived and used as a test case. The newly derived model is modified according to the proposed method. The validity of this process is assessed through comparisons of model predictions—both from before and after modification—to results of hardware experiments. A simple design example is given to demonstrate the application of this process in the design of inverters in distributed-generation-based microgrids. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a new multi-agent control system (MACS) is proposed for smart distribution networks. It can: 1) eliminate the feeders' congestion, 2) globally correct voltage violations, and 3) coordinate the operation of reactive power control devices. In performing its functions, the MACS must prevent overstress on the substation voltage regulator tap changer under all operating conditions, and avoid selective active power curtailment from DG units. This can help to improve reliability, economic revenue, and power quality. A fuzzy rule-based system is employed for decision-making support in MACS. The proposed MACS can achieve the self-healing requirement of smart distribution network. It eliminates feeders' congestion by properly reconfiguring the distribution network. Meanwhile, it amends most of voltage violation problems by coordinated operation of voltage control devices in the distribution system. The MACS overcomes the severe voltage violation problems via distribution network reconfiguration. It is applied to the IEEE 33-bus test feeder. A full dynamic model is constructed using a parallel MATLAB-JADE simulation arrangement. Comparative performance evaluations of the MACS and other schemes are presented under various conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel method for detecting parasitic dc components in ac grids. The method uses a parallel-connected sensing reactor and a low-cost digital signal processor. From the reactor current, the algorithm derives a sum of even harmonics, considering at the same time their phase shift with respect to the fundamental. The method is insensitive to the measurement noise and offset, and it does not require additional passive filters. Precision better than 100 \muV in 0.4-kV grids is maintained over a wide range of ac voltages. This paper details the detection method, provides the guidelines for the reactor design, and includes the key implementation details related to the signal acquisition—sampling and digital processing. High precision of the new sensor is thoroughly verified on an experimental setup connected to a 0.4-kV grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demonstrates a novel cosimulation architecture that integrates hardware testing using power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) techniques with larger-scale electric grid models using off-the-shelf non-PHIL software tools. This test bed for distributed integration enables utilities to study the impacts of emerging energy technologies on their system and manufacturers to explore the interactions of new devices with existing and emerging devices on the power system, both without the need to convert existing grid models to a new platform or to conduct in-field trials. This paper describes an implementation of this architecture for testing two residential-scale advanced solar inverters at separate points of common coupling (PCCs). The same hardware setup is tested with two different distribution feeders (IEEE 123 and 8500 node test systems) modeled using GridLAB-D. In addition to simplifying testing with multiple feeders, the architecture demonstrates additional flexibility with hardware testing in one location linked via the Internet to software modeling in a remote location. In testing, the inverter current, real and reactive power, and PCC voltage are well captured by the cosimulation platform. Testing of the inverter advanced control features is currently somewhat limited by the software model time step (1 s) and tested communication latency (24 ms). These limitations could be overcome using faster modeling and communication within the same cosimulation architecture. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Investing in innovative Smart Grids (SGs) technology can reduce overall investments in distribution systems with unpredictable renewable energy sources (RES). Regulators should, therefore, decide what incentives are desirable and design a flexible economic regulatory framework able to encourage distribution system operators (DNOs) to decide for innovation in the SGs. An innovative method that can support the regulators in encouraging RES exploitation by determining the right incentives to favor investments in innovation in an electrical distribution network is proposed in this paper. The method allows stakeholders like regulators, distribution companies and developers evaluating the long-term economic effects of their decisions. The effectiveness of the proposed method, based on non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II) and on multi-period optimal power flow (MP-OPF), is verified on an 84-bus network. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The papers in this special section was conceived with an aim of stimulating forward-looking and transformative ideas and methods that can lead to significant advances in power system protection. Protection is one of the fastest operating functions of a power system, and critical to safety of equipment, and stability of the system. Designed and refined through more than a century of experience, insight, and technological advances, design and implementation of protection has kept power systems exceptionally reliable, considering the fact that the power grid is the largest nonlinear dynamic system in the world, a large part of which is continuously exposed to weather. In recent times, advances in sensing, communication, and computing have potential to refine, or even redefine the conception and implementation of power system protection. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]