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Advances and Challenges in Power Systems with High Penetration of Renewable Energies

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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Science and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2025) | Viewed by 14662

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Luona Xu

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Guest Editor

The Faculty of Engineering and Science, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark
Interests: distributed power generation; marine power systems; power generation control; power system stability

Dr. Yajuan Guan

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Guest Editor

Center for Research on Microgrids (CROM), AAU Energy, Aalborg University, 9220 Aalborg, Denmark
Interests: microgrids; distributed generation systems; paralleled inverters; control strategy; internet of things (IoT); PV converters; small signal stability; energy management system
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Yongjie Luo

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Guest Editor

School of Electrical Engineering, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
Interests: multi-terminal FLEXIBLE DC transmission; modular multilevel converter; high voltage and high power electric energy conversion; distributed new energy access and DC power grid

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the development of distributed renewable energy generation and modern power electronics, there has been a profound revolution in operation and control technology of power systems. Distributed renewable energy generation and new loads such as electric vehicles introduce significant randomness and volatility into the power system, together with the characteristics of a fast fault response, nonlinear control, multi-physical field coupling, etc. This brings new challenges to the safe, stable and efficient operation of the power system. Therefore, this Special Issue intends to present new ideas and solutions in the field of operation, control and protection of power systems with high penetration of renewable energies.

The fields related to the operation and control of power systems with high penetration of renewable energies include but are not limited to distributed energy generation, stability control of AC/DC hybrid grids, topology and coordinated control of microgrids, fault analysis and protection of HVDC transmission systems, etc. Control and protection technologies related to energy storage stations, virtual power plants and electric transportation are also topics of interest.

This Special Issue will publish high-quality, original research papers in the following overlapping fields:

Advances in modelling and analysis of power systems with high penetration of renewable energies;
Advances in operation and control of AC/DC hybrid power grids;
Advances in new topology and control technologies for microgrids;
Advances in fault analysis and protection of HVDC transmission systems and DC grids;
New challenges and solutions for power systems with high penetration of renewable energies.

Dr. Luona Xu
Dr. Yajuan Guan
Dr. Yongjie Luo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

power system
renewable energy generation
power electronics
stability analysis
control and protection

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Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4154 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Efficient Probabilistic Evaluation and Sensitivity Analysis of Load Supply Capability for Renewable-Energy-Based Power Systems

by Jie Zhang, Kaixiang Fu, Weizhi Huang, Yilin Zhang, Qing Sun, Yuan Chi and Junjie Tang

Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(9), 5169; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15095169 - 6 May 2025

Viewed by 169

Abstract

In renewable energy generation, uncertainties mainly refer to power output fluctuations caused by the intermittency, variability, and forecasting errors of wind and photovoltaic power. These uncertainties have adverse effects on the secure operation of the power systems. Probabilistic load supply capability (LSC) serves as an effective perspective for evaluating power system security under uncertainties. Therefore, this paper studies the influence of renewable energy generation on probabilistic LSC to quantify the impact of these uncertainties on the secure operation of the power systems. Global sensitivity analysis (GSA) is introduced for the first time into probabilistic LSC evaluation. It can quantify the impact of renewable energy generation on the system’s LSC and rank the importance of renewable energy power stations based on GSA indices. GSA necessitates multiple rounds of probabilistic LSC evaluation, which is computationally intensive. To address it, this paper introduces a novel probabilistic repeated power flow (PRPF) algorithm, which employs a basis-adaptive sparse polynomial chaos expansion (BASPCE) model as a surrogate model for the original repeated power flow model, thereby accelerating the probabilistic LSC evaluation. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed methods is verified through case studies on the IEEE 39-bus system. This study provides a practical approach for analyzing the impact of renewable generation uncertainties on power system security, contributing to more informed planning and operational decisions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Power Systems with High Penetration of Renewable Energies)

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29 pages, 3807 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimal Dispatch of Multi-Coupling Systems Considering Molten Salt Thermal Energy Storage Retrofit and Cost Allocation Under Rapid Load Variations

by Niancheng Zhou, Zhenyu Xu, Yuan Chi, Yao Zou, Fei Xu and Xuhui Dai

Appl. Sci. 2025, 15(7), 4062; https://doi.org/10.3390/app15074062 - 7 Apr 2025

Viewed by 264

Abstract

With the rapid growth of renewable energy generation capacity, integrating thermal power units and renewable energy units at the point of common coupling (PCC) as a coupling system (CS) can significantly enhance the operational reliability and economic efficiency of modern power systems. To better reflect the coordinated operational capability of thermal power units with molten salt thermal storage retrofit (TPUMSTSR) in multi-coupling system (MCS) scheduling, this study proposes a multi-stage optimization-based dispatch method for MCSs. First, rapid load variation (RLV) technology and thermal storage retrofitting are combined to establish a thermal power unit operation model incorporating molten salt thermal storage (MSTS) retrofits under RLVs. Based on this, a three-stage economic dispatch optimization method is proposed to maximize the daily comprehensive generation revenue of MCSs while dynamically allocating peak regulation (PR) revenue costs across different time periods to relax and simplify nonlinear objectives and constraints in the optimization process. Finally, a simulation study is conducted on an MCS in northeast China. The results demonstrate that the proposed flexibility retrofit scheme and optimization algorithm enable a more coordinated and economically efficient dispatch strategy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Power Systems with High Penetration of Renewable Energies)

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20 pages, 2711 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Flexibility Assessment of Ternary Pumped Storage in Day-Ahead Optimization Scheduling of Power Systems

by Zhiyu Wu, Junzhou Wang, Sui Peng, Yining Zhang, Wenxuan Pan and Junjie Tang

Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(19), 8820; https://doi.org/10.3390/app14198820 - 30 Sep 2024

Viewed by 1015

Abstract

To explore the advantages in the flexibility of ternary pumped storage units (T-PSUs) compared with fixed-speed pumped storage units (FS-PSUs) and variable-speed pumped storage units (VS-PSUs) in the day-ahead optimal scheduling of power systems, this paper firstly establishes the mathematical model of T-PSUs which is suitable for the target application, and establishes a new hybrid pumped storage model combining both FS-PSUs and T-PSUs for the purpose of improving existing FS-PSUs. Secondly, a day-ahead optimal scheduling model used for a wind-thermal-pumped storage bundled transmission system with the goal of obtaining the lowest operating cost is established. Additionally, various indicators are proposed to comprehensively evaluate the flexibility of different pumped storage unit types on day-ahead optimal scheduling. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is conducted from three aspects: covering the wind power capacity, load rate, and pumped storage capacity. The results indicate that T-PSUs are superior to FS-PSUs and VS-PSUs in maintaining the smooth, economic, and robust operation of thermal power units, as well as in promoting wind power consumption. This provides a significant reference for evaluating the technical and economic benefits of the different types of pumped storage units in applications of future power grids. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Power Systems with High Penetration of Renewable Energies)

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13 pages, 5111 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on a Three-Phase Energy Mutual-Aid Strategy for a Grid-Connected Inverter Based on Constructed Negative Sequence Current Control

by Zhenao Sun, Dazhong Ma and Qiuye Sun

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(23), 12863; https://doi.org/10.3390/app132312863 - 30 Nov 2023

Viewed by 1195

Abstract

With the increased grid-connected capacity of a single-phase distributed power supply, three-phase power unbalance is more likely to occur in a power grid. Three-phase power unbalance can further lead to three-phase voltage unbalance, which can have adverse effects on power quality and power supply reliability. Therefore, there is a need to build a three-phase power transmission channel to realize power exchanging among phases. In this paper, a novel grid-connected inverter control strategy for three-phase power exchanging is proposed based on constructed negative sequence current control. A completed negative sequence current control loop is added to a conventional three-bridge inverter to realize the decoupling control of three-phase grid current, and then three-phase power exchanging is realized. On this basis, this paper further puts forward a strategy for three-phase power exchanging aimed at three-phase voltage balance. Correspondingly, the three-phase grid current is controlled according to the feedback of the three-phase voltage. Then, three-phase voltage balance is achieved by three-phase power exchanging. The simulation and experimental results show that the proposed strategy is suitable for a three-phase unbalanced power grid, which can realize three-phase power exchanging, and further, can achieve three-phase voltage balance. The proposed strategy can help to improve power quality and supply reliability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Power Systems with High Penetration of Renewable Energies)

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17 pages, 4373 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Robust Design Method for Ultra-Low-Frequency Oscillation Suppression Control in Hydro–Photovoltaic Complementary Systems

by Xueyang Zeng, Gang Chen, Huabo Shi, Sijia Wang and Peng Shi

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(19), 11066; https://doi.org/10.3390/app131911066 - 8 Oct 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1391

Abstract

Aiming at the problem of ultra-low-frequency oscillation (ULFO) in power systems, with an oscillation frequency lower than 0.1 Hz, an oscillation suppression control method is proposed. Firstly, the mathematical modeling of the system is carried out, and a cascade correction control method of the governor of hydropower generators is proposed. Secondly, using the ability of photovoltaic (PV) active power to adjust the system frequency, an additional controller for PV active power is proposed. Then, a unified frequency model considering the two controllers is established for multi-hydro and multi-PV systems, and the structural singular value method is used to coordinate the design of the parameters of the hydropower and PV generator controllers to achieve robust performance. Finally, based on a time-domain simulation of single-hydro and single-PV systems and an actual demonstration system located in Sichuan Province, China, the results show that the control method proposed in this paper has a good suppression effect on ultra-low-frequency oscillation under different working conditions, and meets the requirements of robust performance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Power Systems with High Penetration of Renewable Energies)

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22 pages, 9340 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Investigation of Impulse Aging of Energy-Absorption Elements for Hybrid DC Circuit Breakers

by Xinyi Wang, Yiying Liu, Yilei Lv, Jinru Sun, Xueling Yao, Xinyu Wang and Zhihan Li

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(17), 9784; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13179784 - 29 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1106

Abstract

The state of the energy-absorption branch MOV in the hybrid DC circuit breaker (DCCB) has a very important impact on the short fault breaking operation of the circuit breaker. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the state of the MOV, which is also called the “sleep component”. Due to DCCB being placed indoors, the aging is mainly caused by short-circuit impulse current. Therefore, this paper mainly focuses on the study of the short-circuit impulse aging characteristics of the energy-absorption branch MOV. The dynamic simulation system of a hybrid DCCB was built to investigate the impulse of short-circuit current on the MOV of the energy-absorption branch during the circuit breaking process. Then, an accelerated impulse aging test platform was built and the accelerated impulse aging tests of the MOV were conducted. The aging characteristics of the MOV were analyzed in detail and detailed analysis was conducted of the macroscopic parameters and microstructure changes. The results indicate that the nonlinear coefficient α could be emphasized as a basis for judging the “sleeping” component states and aging degree of the hybrid DC circuit breaker, and can be expected to be applicable to MOV condition monitoring of BCCB in the future. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Power Systems with High Penetration of Renewable Energies)

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16 pages, 4103 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Improved Arc Fault Location Method of DC Distribution System Based on EMD-SVD Decomposition

by Liuming Jing, Lei Xia, Tong Zhao and Jinghua Zhou

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(16), 9132; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13169132 - 10 Aug 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1602

Abstract

The influence of the control strategy of the power electronic converter obscures the fault characteristics of DC distribution networks. The existence of arc faults over an extended period of time poses a grave threat to the security of power grids and may result in electric shock, fire, and other catastrophes. In recent years, the method of fault localization based on the traveling wave method has been a popular topic of research in the field of DC distribution system protection. In this paper, the fault localization principle of the traveling wave method is described in depth, and the propagation characteristics of the traveling wave of fault current in the online mode network are deduced. We present a method for wave head calibration that combines empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and singular value decomposition (VMD). After the fault-traveling current signal has been subjected to EMD, the first eigenmode function is extracted and subjected to singular value decomposition (SVD). After SVD, the detail component can reflect the singularity of the signal. The point of the maximum value of the detail component signal corresponds to the moment when the faulty traveling wave head reaches the monitoring point. Finally, the DC distribution system is modeled based on the PSCAD/EMTDC simulation environment, and the fault location method is verified. The simulation results show that the method can effectively realize fault localization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Power Systems with High Penetration of Renewable Energies)

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15 pages, 2973 KiB

Open AccessArticle

An Efficient Method for the Reliability Evaluation of Power Systems Considering the Variable Photovoltaic Power Output

by Haojie He, Liweiyong Guo, Peidong Han, Changzheng Shao and Tan Xu

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(16), 9053; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13169053 - 8 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1633

Abstract

The operational reliability of power systems is threatened by the random failure of components and uncertain power output of renewable energies, such as photovoltaics. Under such circumstances, reliability evaluation is necessary for maintaining a continuous and stable energy supply. However, traditional reliability evaluation methods are usually extremely time-consuming, considering the numerous system states that need to be analysed. Hence, the reliability evaluation process cannot follow up the dynamic changes in PV output, which makes the timeline of the evaluation disappointing. This paper proposes an efficient reliability evaluation method for power systems with PV integration. The method reveals the analytical relationship between the reliability levels of the power system and the uncertainty factors that influence the reliability, such as the PV output. In this way, the dynamic reliability evaluation is achieved, and the evaluation results can be updated timely when the output of PV changes. First, a Gaussian mixture-hidden Markov model (GMM-HMM) is used to model the distribution characteristics of PV output. Then, the state enumeration and the hyperbolic truncated polynomial chaos expansion method are used to determine the analytical relationship between the reliability indices and PV output. Lastly, based on the analytical function, the operational reliability of the power systems is dynamically evaluated considering the real-time PV output. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified using the modified IEEE 30 system as an example. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Power Systems with High Penetration of Renewable Energies)

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31 pages, 8634 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Probabilistic Forecasting of Available Load Supply Capacity for Renewable-Energy-Based Power Systems

by Qizhuan Shao, Shuangquan Liu, Yigong Xie, Xinchun Zhu, Yilin Zhang, Junzhou Wang and Junjie Tang

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(15), 8860; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13158860 - 31 Jul 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1462

Abstract

In order to accurately analyze the load supply capability of power systems with high penetration of renewable energy generation, this paper proposes a probabilistic available load supply capability (ALSC) forecasting method. Firstly, the optimal input features are selected by calculating the maximal information coefficient (MIC) between the input features and the target output. Based on this, a stacking ensemble learning model is applied for the prediction of wind power, photovoltaic power and load power. Secondly, the distributions of the forecasting objects are obtained based on forecasting errors and the error statistics method. Finally, the forecasting distributions of wind power, photovoltaic power and load are set as the parameters of a power system, and then probabilistic ALSC is calculated using Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) and repeated power flow (RPF). In order to simulate a more realistic power system, multiple slack buses are introduced to conduct two types of power imbalance allocations with novel allocation principles during the RPF calculation, which makes the ALSC evaluation results more reasonable and accurate. The results of probabilistic ALSC forecasting can provide a reference for the load power supply capacity of a power system in the future, and they can also provide an early warning for the risk of ALSC threshold overlimit. Case studies carried out on the modified IEEE 39-bus system verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed methods. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Power Systems with High Penetration of Renewable Energies)

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21 pages, 13211 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design of Energy Recovery Control for General Virtual Synchronous Machines Based on Various Forms of Energy Storage

by Haigang Liu, Chu Sun, Xiaolin Zhang, Na Wang and Juncheng Wang

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(14), 8059; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13148059 - 10 Jul 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1470

Abstract

The reduced inertia in the power system due to renewable energy integration introduces operation challenges in frequency stability and control. The current options for virtual inertia and frequency support are limited by the energy resources and the power electronic interface. Considering the demand on response speed and energy capacity, a general virtual synchronous machine (VSM) control based on various forms of energy storage systems (ESS) is proposed. The steady-state energy variation of energy storage is found to be proportional to the virtual damping or governor gain, while inversely proportional to the integral gain of system frequency control. It is found that the size of energy storage can be at the second time scale (for example, 6.8 p.u.·s) for VSM implementation, which is significantly smaller than the conventional hour-scale energy storage in the power system. Based on energy dynamic analysis, stability requirement, and bandwidth separation rules, an energy recovery control is designed to maintain constant state of charge (for example, 50%) while avoiding conflicts with frequency regulation. The time scale of the designed energy recovery control loop (for example, hundreds of seconds) is longer than the secondary frequency control. The effectiveness of the proposed control is verified through comprehensive case studies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Power Systems with High Penetration of Renewable Energies)

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21 pages, 4119 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimization of a Virtual Synchronous Control Parameter for a Wind Turbine Generator Considering the Physical Constraint Boundary of Primary Frequency Regulation

by Junying Cao, Peng Sun, Zhaoyang Chen and Zhentao Qin

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(9), 5569; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13095569 - 30 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1528

Abstract

The wind turbine generator participates in the primary frequency regulation of the power system by releasing kinetic energy from the rotor. It is necessary to ensure that the rotor speed and converter capacity are within the safe range during the frequency regulation process; otherwise, it will have serious negative effects on the frequency stability of the power system. As an important primary frequency regulation parameter, the dead zone affects the evaluation of the frequency regulation ability of WTG. Therefore, the influence of the dead zone should also be further considered. In order to evaluate the frequency regulation capability of wind turbine generators more comprehensively and accurately, this paper proposes an optimized method for the parameter of virtual synchronous control for wind turbine generators by considering the dead zone and physical constraint boundary of primary frequency regulation. After establishing the time domain expression by considering the frequency regulation dead zone, the real-time frequency regulation capacity of the wind turbine generator is quantified by considering the speed limit of the rotor and the capacity limit of the converter. Furthermore, the optimal value of the frequency regulation coefficient can be derived. Simulation results show that the proposed method can effectively reduce the frequency deviation and frequency change rate of the power system, which can also keep the response within the physical constraint boundary. Consequently, the proposed method can fully utilize the ability for frequency regulation of the wind power generation system and effectively improve the frequency stability of the power system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances and Challenges in Power Systems with High Penetration of Renewable Energies)

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