Real-Time Integration of Intermittent Generation With Voltage Rise Considerations

In the modern electric power grid, a commonly observable recent phenomenon is the increasing penetration of renewable generation sources especially at the distribution network (DN) level. The traditional DN is not designed for bidirectional power flow induced by these volatile sources and, therefore voltage rise is a major concern. In order to enable mass renewable integration into any type of existing radial DN without requiring expensive line/bus upgrades and avoiding adverse effects of voltage rise, these generation sources (with possible nonconvex discrete output levels) must be dispatched in real-time while taking into account nonconvex voltage constraints. Ubiquitous connectivity between power components is available in today's grid due to the cyber-physical nature of these devices. We leverage this to propose a distributed algorithm based on principles of population games for efficient dispatch that minimizes dependence of the DN on the main grid for sustainable system operation. Theoretical and simulation studies show that the proposed algorithm allows for the seamless coexistence of a large number of renewables that are highly responsive to fluctuations in demand and supply with strong convergence properties while successfully mitigating voltage rise issues.