Expansion planning for active distribution networks considering deployment of smart management technologies

In this study, a multi-stage long-term expansion planning model for an active distribution network (ADN) is presented, with the aim of minimising the investment and operation cost in a coordinated manner over an established horizon. The planning model optimises the following alternatives: upgrading the capacities of substations, reinforcing and/or constructing cable circuits, placing voltage regulators (VRs) and/or static VAR generators, and determining the connection points for distributed generators (DGs). The investment decisions are optimised over the entire planning horizon which can be further divided into multiple periods, and the operation strategies, e.g. active management of DG as well as ADN topology reconfiguration, are determined according to the profiles of representative scenarios. To relieve the computational burden, the original model is properly simplified as a mixed-integer quadratic constrained programming problem through linearisation and approximation techniques, and the solution optimality is guaranteed after invoking the off-the-shell solver. A 24-node test system is employed to validate the effectiveness of the proposed model.