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The integration of electrolyzers and fuel cells can cause voltage fluctuations within microgrids if not properly scheduled. Therefore, controlling voltage and reactive power becomes crucial to mitigate the impact of fluctuating voltage levels, ensuring system stability and preventing damage to equipment. This paper, therefore, seeks to enhance voltage and reactive power control within reconfigurable microgrids in the presence of innovative power-to-hydrogen technologies via electrolyzers and hydrogen-to-power through fuel cells. Specifically, it focuses on the simultaneous coordination of an electrolyzer, hydrogen storage, and a fuel cell alongside on-load tap changers, smart photovoltaic inverters, renewable energy sources, diesel generators, and electric vehicle aggregation within the microgrid system. Additionally, dynamic network reconfiguration is employed to enhance microgrid flexibility and improve the overall system adaptability. Given the inherent unpredictability linked to resources, the unscented transformation method is employed to account for these uncertainties in the proposed voltage and reactive power management. Finally, the model is formulated as a convex optimization problem and is solved through GUROBI version 11, which leads to having a time-efficient model with high accuracy. To assess the effectiveness of the model, it is eventually examined on a modified 33-bus microgrid in several cases. Through the results of the under-study microgrid, the developed model is a great remedy for the simultaneous operation of diverse resources in reconfigurable microgrids with a flatter voltage profile across the microgrid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance stability and reliability, multi-microgrid systems have been developed as replacements for conventional distribution networks. Traditionally, switches have been used to interconnect these microgrids, but this approach often results in uncoordinated power sharing, leading to economic inefficiencies and technical challenges such as voltage fluctuations, delay in response, etc. This research, in turn, introduces a novel multi-microgrid system that utilizes advanced electronic devices known as soft open points (SOPs) to enable effective voltage management and controllable power sharing between microgrids while also providing reactive power support. To account for uncertainties in the system, the two-point estimate method (2PEM) is applied. Simulation results on an IEEE 33-bus network with high renewable energy penetration reveal that the proposed SOP-based system significantly outperforms the traditional switch-based method, with a minimum voltage level of 0.98 p.u., compared to 0.93 p.u. in the conventional approach. These findings demonstrate the advantages of using SOPs for voltage management in forming multi-microgrid systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on evaluating several machine learning algorithms for the condition assessment of utility timber poles. An efficient feature extraction technique combining Hilbert Huang transform (HHT) and wavelet packet transform (WPT) is adopted from the authors' previous work and implemented to determine damage-sensitive features from vibration data related to five serviceable and eight unserviceable in-situ timber poles. Then, these features are pre-processed using correlation heat map analysis for feature selection. Principal component analysis (PCA) is adopted as the final step of pre-processing for reducing noise interference and enhancing classification accuracy. Afterwards, a feature matrix is formed, which is fed into the selected classifiers for pattern recognition. In addition, the information gain method is also implemented and compared against PCA to examine the effect of feature selection. Finally, selected classifiers are employed using those dominant features, and their performance is evaluated based on six parameters – accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, confusion matrix and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve. It was found that choosing the best feature set related to the health state helps to improve the performance of the pattern recognition algorithms to a great extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a hierarchical multi-stage approach based on a distributed level phasor measurement unit (µPMU) at local controllers and a phasor data concentrator (PDC) at the central control unit to restore system voltage when it exceeds the limits recommended by the IEEE 1547-2018 standard. The proposed algorithm does not need an accurate system model or employ optimization solutions. Therefore, it has less implementation complexity and would be popular among distribution network service providers (DNSPs) and distribution network operators (DNOs) as it does not suffer from cost and computational complexity limitations. A PMU-PDC-based communication platform has been developed as a more efficient alternative to the supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system, and provides superior characteristics, including a higher sample rate, higher data resolutions, and faster communication. The proposed coordinated algorithm aims to postpone power generation curtailment in distributed energy resources (DERs) with overvoltage problems (local DERs) by incorporating all the DERs that are not subjected to voltage violation (remote DERs) by absorbing their maximum reactive power capacity. If the system voltage has not recovered after absorbing all of the reactive power capacity of all the DERs, a reduced active power curtailment proposed by the algorithm is then applied to the system to control the voltage. The proposed strategy has been simulated in MATLAB and applied to IEEE 13-bus and IEEE 33-bus radial distribution benchmark systems to validate the performance of the system, in terms of its ability to coordinate voltage control and the accuracy of the PMU-PDC-based communication interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Total harmonic distortion (THD) and power loss are minimized in this study by effectively allocating tie switches and soft open points (SOPs). • The obtained results are also examined under the uncertainties in load demands through Monte Carlo Simulation (MCSs). • To size and site, the required equipment, an optimization framework based on the fuzzy-integrated differential evolution algorithm (FDEA) is constructed. The growing power quality issues stemming from the higher presence of converter-based appliances in the distribution network increases the harmonic risks. Given the importance of tackling these issues to deliver high-quality power to customers, this investigation provides a promising approach focused on effectively designating soft open points (SOPs) and tie switches in the distribution networks. The objectives of this investigation include the reduction of total harmonic distortion (THD), power loss per various harmonic frequencies and the number of SOPs. To evaluate the performance of the proposed approach, the study is carried out on two well-known networks, 33-bus, and 69-bus. Through these analyses, it was shown how effectively THD, power loss, and voltage profiles are improved when SOPs and tie switches are allocated together. The outcomes of thorough analyses provide credence to the assertion that the suggested approach is very promising for mitigating power quality issues by handling uncertainties in loads by Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS). In more detail, the obtained solutions assure that the suggested method has superior power quality across the networks by maintaining the THD levels within the standard margins. Additionally, the developed model offers advantages including reduced power loss and enhanced voltage profiles, which increase the overall network efficiency, while reducing the total investment cost by reducing the number of SOPs and power loss in power distribution networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Dynamically reconfiguring the structure of multi-microgrid systems to enhance the penetration of distributed energy resources. • Vehicle-to-grid concept is deployed to capture the intermittency of renewable resources and load demand. • To make the model more accurate, the uncertainty of loads and renewables is handled by using stochastic programming. • A mathematical-based convex optimization model is established to reap the benefits of CPLEX and GUROBI as solvers. • Results illustrate that both technical and economic aspects of multi-microgrid system improved significantly. On the one hand, the inherent intermittency in demands and renewable energy sources (RES) frequently bring challenges such as overload or surplus generation within microgrids. On the other hand, electric vehicle aggregations (EVAs) have garnered substantial attention as a pivotal strategy to address climate change and serve as a sustainable substitute for petroleum-based vehicles. However, the uncoordinated deployment of EVAs within microgrids, especially in the face of the intermittent nature of RES, poses a potential threat to the secure operation of microgrid systems. To tackle the mentioned issues, this research concentrates on interconnecting a group of scattered microgrids to create a multi-microgrid system. In more detail, by developing an energy management strategy to reconfigure the interconnections among microgrids, the efficient exchange of power among these multi-microgrid systems is facilitated, addressing the variability in load demands amidst the stochastic generation patterns of RESs. Besides, grid-to-vehicle (G2V) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) concepts of EVAs are synchronized within the reconfigurable microgrid structure to enhance the flexibility of the model. To evaluate the model under realistic situations, a scenario-based method is also employed to reflect the effects of uncertainties on the model. The proposed approach, characterized by its mathematical convexity, allows for employing efficient solvers like CPLEX, ensuring the attainment of a feasible global solution within a finite timeframe. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through its implementation on a modified 33-bus test system operated as multi-microgrid system. The results show the effectiveness of the proposed approach as a promising tool for optimizing the operation of reconfigurable multi-microgrid systems in the presence of EVAs, leading to operational cost reduction and voltage profile enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]