Planning Electric Power Grids with Centralized and Distributed Technologies

Abstract: With the advent of distributed generation, power system generation manifests itself at all scales from home to the utility. We consider the costs and trade-offs in planning generation expansion across these scales. To do this, we are developing a multistage expansion planning model to assess trade-offs between the integration of bulk generation and transmission system expansion with distribution system expansion, considering effects of technology scaling. This approach allows for economic evaluation of distributed and utility-scale generation within the same framework, identifying the least-cost investment strategy to address expected demand growth while satisfying EPA CO₂ compliance constraints. The investigation makes use of a mixed-integer linear programming model solved with CPLEX to perform long-term, multiperiod co-optimized generation, transmission, and distribution expansion planning. The method is illustrated with a hybrid transmission-distribution WECC and Puerto Rico system. The results reveal that in most cases investment should be made at the utility scale, with a mix of commercial and residential scale generation.

Bio: Shikha Sharma is a Ph.D. student at Iowa State University. She received her M.Tech in electrical engineering (power systems) from VJTI, Mumbai, India. Her research interests are in power system expansion planning,