Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.8
3.3
Journals
Sustainability
Special Issues
Sustainability of Distributed Generation through Virtual Power Plant
sustainability-logo
Submit to Sustainability Review for Sustainability Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

► Journal Menu

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser
share announcement

Sustainability of Distributed Generation through Virtual Power Plant

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 21993

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Attia El-Fergany

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Electric Power Engineering, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44519, Egypt
Interests: power system operations; planning and control; integrations of renewables to power systems; smart grids; artificial intelligence applications; power quality issues
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Mahmoud El-kholy

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Electric Power Engineering, Zagazig University, 44519 Zagazig, Egypt
Interests: electric machines; renewable energies
Prof. Dr. Mohamed El-Hameed

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Electric Power Engineering, Zagazig University, 44519 Zagazig, Egypt
Interests: power system analysis and control; renewable energy sources; power system optimization

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Conventional power plants supply capacity when needed and also deliver a range of grid-stabilizing ancillary services, from voltage stabilization to frequency response. Recently, the integration of distributed generation (DGs) into electric power systems has been accompanied by new facility operation strategies. Thus, it has become increasingly important to enhance management capabilities in this regard through different kinds of virtual power plants (VPPs). These include the formulation of the model, techniques for solving mathematical problems, participation in different types of markets, and the applicability of the proposed models to real case studies. It is also important to exploit their ability to participate in electricity markets to maximize operating profits. Microgrids comprise of a mix of distributed renewable power sources, energy storage, flexible demand and fossil-fuel plants. On the other hand, VPPs are usually integrated into the grid. In other words, microgrids are intended to be islanded or grid-connected so they can continue working self-sufficiently. The developed practices and functionalities are implemented through a service-oriented design and control scheme of the VPPs for the determination of feasible economic and technical solutions in the energy market and for power system operations. This Special Issue concerns up-to-date research efforts related to the development, design, control, modeling, etc., of VPPs and microgrids along with traditional power systems.

This Special Issue (SI) aims at presenting novel research on power systems operation, planning, and control; in particular, in the case of integrating renewable energy sources to conventional power grids. This SI represents a venue for contributors and researchers to share their up-to-date research and interesting results. The key subjects of interest comprise of, but are not limited to, the following:

  1. All categories of renewable energy sources and support of energy storage systems
  2. Grid integration of renewable sources
  3. Various kind of connections in regard to distributed generations
  4. Frequency and voltage stability
  5. Smart grids and virtual power plants
  6. Low inertia remedial actions
  7. Classical, optimal and model predictive control of power systems
  8. Artificial intelligence applied to energy systems
  9. Protection of microgrids
  10. Smart grid mitigation measures
  11. Virtual power plants
  12. Demand response
  13. Optimization technologies utilizing IoT and AI
  14. Vehicle-to-grid

Prof. Dr. Attia El-Fergany
Prof. Dr. Mahmoud El-kholy
Prof. Dr. Mohamed El-Hameed
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • virtual inertia control
  • microgrids
  • applications of artificial intelligence (AI)
  • primary and secondary control
  • impact of distributed generations on network performance
  • grid integration of renewable sources and energy storage
  • smart grid mitigation measures
  • power system analysis, control, and optimization
  • model predictive control

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (6 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Jump to: Review

13 pages, 2082 KiB  
Article
Optimal Scheduling of Hybrid Sustainable Energy Microgrid: A Case Study for a Resort in Sokhna, Egypt
by Ashraf K. Abdelaal, Elshahat F. Mohamed and Attia A. El-Fergany
Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12948; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912948 - 10 Oct 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2268
Abstract
This paper is focused on analyzing, investigating, and designing a hybrid energy system based on sustainable or renewable resources, namely solar and wind energy, in addition to using a diesel generator and battery storage to supply a small resort in Suez, Egypt. The [...] Read more.
This paper is focused on analyzing, investigating, and designing a hybrid energy system based on sustainable or renewable resources, namely solar and wind energy, in addition to using a diesel generator and battery storage to supply a small resort in Suez, Egypt. The resort is located in Sokhna, which is on the Suez gulf and is about 50 km from the Suez governorate and 100 km from Cairo, Egypt. The Sokhna coast has plenty of high solar radiation and wind energy all year. At the same time, the Egyptian government is building many wind and photovoltaic projects there. Thus, it is expected that it will be very economic to use solar and wind energy in that area to supply the resort. The optimal combinations of energy resources to meet the load demand under various scenarios are considered. The optimal mix of sources is investigated with and without the presence of the grid. The cropped outcomes show that the hybrid energy system, which is also in the presence of the grid, is a very economical solution that provides the resort with an acceptable energy cost. The cost of energies (CoEs) is equal to 0.0441 and 0.0443 $/kWh for cases 2 and 4 (with grid), respectively. However, the CoEs are equal to 0.141 and 0.134 $/kWh for cases 1 and 3 (without grid), respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Distributed Generation through Virtual Power Plant)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 9465 KiB  
Article
Power Quality Improvement in Renewable-Energy-Based Microgrid Clusters Using Fuzzy Space Vector PWM Controlled Inverter
by Sivakavi Naga Venkata Bramareswara Rao, Yellapragada Venkata Pavan Kumar, Darsy John Pradeep, Challa Pradeep Reddy, Aymen Flah, Habib Kraiem and Jawad F. Al-Asad
Sustainability 2022, 14(8), 4663; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14084663 - 13 Apr 2022
Cited by 46 | Viewed by 4502
Abstract
An increased electricity demand and dynamic load changes are creating a huge burden on the modern utility grid, thereby affecting supply reliability and quality. It is thus crucial for modern power system researchers to focus on these aspects to reduce grid outages. High-quality [...] Read more.
An increased electricity demand and dynamic load changes are creating a huge burden on the modern utility grid, thereby affecting supply reliability and quality. It is thus crucial for modern power system researchers to focus on these aspects to reduce grid outages. High-quality power is always desired to run various businesses smoothly, but power-electronic-converter-based renewable energy integrated into the utility grid is the major source of power quality issues. Many solutions are constantly being invented, yet a continuous effort and new optimized solutions are encouraged to address these issues by adhering to various global standards (IEC, IEEE, EN, etc.). This paper therefore proposes a concept of establishing a renewable-energy-based microgrid cluster by integrating various buildings located in an urban community. This enhances power supply reliability by managing the available energy in the cluster without depending on the utility grid. Further, a “fuzzy space vector pulse width modulation” (FSV-PWM) technique is proposed to control the inverter, which improves the power supply quality. This work uniquely optimized the dq reference currents using fuzzy logic theory, which were used to plot the space vectors with effective sector selection to generate accurate PWM signals for inverter control. The modeling/simulation of the microgrid cluster involving the FSV-PWM-based inverter was carried out using MATLAB/Simulink®. The efficacy of the proposed FSV-PWM over the conventional ST-PWM was verified by plotting voltage, frequency, real/reactive power, and harmonic distortion characteristics. Various power quality indices were calculated under different disturbance conditions. The results showed that the use of the proposed FSV-PWM-based inverter adhered to all the key standard requirements, while the conventional system failed in most of the indices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Distributed Generation through Virtual Power Plant)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 3595 KiB  
Article
Over-Current Relays Coordination Including Practical Constraints and DGs: Damage Curves, Inrush, and Starting Currents
by Abdelmonem Draz, Mahmoud M. Elkholy and Attia El-Fergany
Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2761; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052761 - 26 Feb 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 3058
Abstract
In this paper, an integrated optimization model based on Gradient-Based Optimizer (GBO) for overcurrent relays coordination along with the challenging practical constraints is proposed. The current proposed effort aims to facilitate the coordination strategy and minimize the technical problems facing the protection/site engineers. [...] Read more.
In this paper, an integrated optimization model based on Gradient-Based Optimizer (GBO) for overcurrent relays coordination along with the challenging practical constraints is proposed. The current proposed effort aims to facilitate the coordination strategy and minimize the technical problems facing the protection/site engineers. The objective function is adapted to minimize the total operating time of the primary relays (TOT) concurrently with satisfying a set of constraints. The algorithm endeavors to fine-tune the relay tripping curve to avoid the false tripping in the case of motor starting and/or transformer inrush conditions. Bear in mind that the selected optimized settings should guarantee that the relay would operate in less time than the thermal withstand capability time of the protected equipment. The proposed model is examined over the distribution portion of the Qarun petroleum isolated network (located in West desert/Egypt), which presents a practical test case including some scenarios after validating its performance with the IEEE 15-bus network. The proposed complicated optimization problem comprises 128 discrepant inequality constraints for overcurrent relays coordination only having 16 relays with 14 relay pairs. Eventually, GBO demonstrates that it is an efficient algorithm for solving this highly constrained optimization problem by comparing its performance to other robust and well-known algorithms such as particle swarm optimizer (PSO) and water cycle optimizer (WCA). The performance metrics confirm the GBO’s viability over the others. For sake of quantification, (i) for scenario1 of the Qarun test case, the GBO achieves a TOT of 0.7381 s, which indicates 63% and 57% reductions for those obtained by the PSO and WCA, respectively, and (ii) for the 15-bus test case, reductions in the TOT of 14.3% and 16.5% for scenarios 1 and 2, respectively. The proposed tool based on GBO can enhance the protection co-ordination including some practical constraints. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Distributed Generation through Virtual Power Plant)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

20 pages, 6506 KiB  
Article
Power Management and Control of a Hybrid Electric Vehicle Based on Photovoltaic, Fuel Cells, and Battery Energy Sources
by Naoui Mohamed, Flah Aymen, Abdullah Altamimi, Zafar A. Khan and Sbita Lassaad
Sustainability 2022, 14(5), 2551; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052551 - 23 Feb 2022
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 5228
Abstract
This paper deals with an energy management problem to ensure the best performance of the recharging tools used in electric vehicles. The main objective of this work is to find the optimal condition for controlling a hybrid recharging system by regrouping the photovoltaic [...] Read more.
This paper deals with an energy management problem to ensure the best performance of the recharging tools used in electric vehicles. The main objective of this work is to find the optimal condition for controlling a hybrid recharging system by regrouping the photovoltaic cells and fuel cells. The photovoltaic and fuel cell systems were connected in parallel via two converters to feed either a lithium battery bank or the main traction motor. This combination of energy sources resulted in a hybrid recharging system. The mathematical model of the overall recharging system and the designed power management loop was developed, taking into account multiple aspects, including vehicle loading, the stepwise mathematical modelling of each component, and a detailed discussion of the required electronic equipment. Finally, a simplistic management loop was designed and implemented. Multiple case studies were simulated, statistical approaches were used to quantify the contribution of each recharging method, and the benefits of the combination of the two sources were evaluated. The energetic performance of an electric vehicle with the proposed hybrid recharging tool under various conditions, including static and dynamic modes, was simulated using the MATLAB/Simulink tool. The results suggest that despite the additional weight of PV panels, the combination of the PV and FC systems improves the vehicle’s energetic performance and provides a higher charging capacity instead of using an FC alone. A comparison with similar studies revealed that the proposed model has a higher efficiency. Finally, the benefits and drawbacks of each solution are discussed to emphasise the significance of the hybrid recharging system. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Distributed Generation through Virtual Power Plant)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

33 pages, 17784 KiB  
Article
ESMA-OPF: Enhanced Slime Mould Algorithm for Solving Optimal Power Flow Problem
by Mohamed Farhat, Salah Kamel, Ahmed M. Atallah, Mohamed H. Hassan and Ahmed M. Agwa
Sustainability 2022, 14(4), 2305; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042305 - 17 Feb 2022
Cited by 33 | Viewed by 2490
Abstract
In this work, an enhanced slime mould algorithm (ESMA) based on neighborhood dimension learning (NDL) search strategy is proposed for solving the optimal power flow (OPF) problem. Before using the proposed ESMA for solving the OPF problem, its validity is verified by an [...] Read more.
In this work, an enhanced slime mould algorithm (ESMA) based on neighborhood dimension learning (NDL) search strategy is proposed for solving the optimal power flow (OPF) problem. Before using the proposed ESMA for solving the OPF problem, its validity is verified by an experiment using 23 benchmark functions and compared with the original SMA, and three other recent optimization algorithms. Consequently, the ESMA is used to solve a modified power flow model including both conventional energy, represented by thermal power generators (TPGs), and renewable energy represented by wind power generators (WPGs) and solar photovoltaic generators (SPGs). Despite the important role of WPGs and SPGs in reducing CO2 emissions, they represent a big challenge for the OPF problem due to their intermittent output powers. To forecast the intermittent output powers from SPGs and WPGs, Lognormal and Weibull probability density functions (PDFs) are used, respectively. The objective function of the OPF has two extra costs, penalty cost and reserve cost. The penalty cost is added to formulate the underestimation of the produced power from the WPGs and SPGs, while the reserve cost is added to formulate the case of overestimation. Moreover, to decrease CO2 emissions from TPGs, a direct carbon tax is added to the objective function in some cases. The uncertainty of load demand represents also another challenge for the OPF that must be taken into consideration while solving it. In this study, the uncertainty of load demand is represented by the normal PDF. Simulation results of ESMA for solving the OPF are compared with the results of the conventional SMA and two further optimization methods. The simulation results obtained in this research show that ESMA is more effective in finding the optimal solution of the OPF problem with regard to minimizing the total power cost and the convergence of solution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Distributed Generation through Virtual Power Plant)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

25 pages, 2749 KiB  
Review
Protective Relaying Coordination in Power Systems Comprising Renewable Sources: Challenges and Future Insights
by Ahmed M. Agwa and Attia A. El-Fergany
Sustainability 2023, 15(9), 7279; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15097279 - 27 Apr 2023
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 3404
Abstract
This article provides a comprehensive review of optimal relay coordination (ORC) in distribution networks (DNs) that include distributed generators (DGs). The integration of DGs into DNs has become a real challenge for power system protection, as the power flow changes from unidirectional to [...] Read more.
This article provides a comprehensive review of optimal relay coordination (ORC) in distribution networks (DNs) that include distributed generators (DGs). The integration of DGs into DNs has become a real challenge for power system protection, as the power flow changes from unidirectional to bidirectional, which complicates the relay settings. The introduction of DGs in DNs requires changes and modifications in the protective schemes to maintain proper operation, reliability, stability, and security of the system. This paper focuses on the impacts of DGs penetration into DNs, including the effects on protective scheme coordination. Various expressions for characterizing the overcurrent (OC) coordination problem, as well as related solution attempts, are discussed. Several optimization strategies and techniques are suggested by scientists to deal with coordination optimization problems aiming to achieve less computation time and better accuracy. All these efforts ultimately aim to define optimal relay settings to achieve ORC by generating the optimal setting of cascading relative OC relays. This comprehensive review provides a broad overview of the contributions of scholars in recent publications in this field, with more than 210 articles reviewed and analyzed. It is a valuable resource for other researchers in the same field who aim to tackle ORC problems in their future endeavors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Distributed Generation through Virtual Power Plant)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-6
Back to TopTop