Resilient expansion planning of virtual energy plant with an integrated energy system -- reliability criteria of lines and towers

TL;DR

This paper explores how the condition of aging power transmission networks influences the planning and expansion of virtual energy plants, considering factors like maintenance costs, risk, and the integration of heat pumps.

Contribution

It introduces a framework for incorporating network health and risk factors into expansion planning of virtual power plants with heat pump integration.

Findings

Network condition significantly affects expansion decisions.

Heat pump inclusion impacts network intervention strategies.

Sensitivity analysis reveals trade-offs between costs and reliability.

Abstract

Virtual power plants, while being virtual, rely on a physical network for operations. The portfolio of the virtual power plants is flexible in facilitating a wide range of resources including the local heat pumps. The power transmission network has the responsibility to ensure the security of supply, reliability of operation, planning, and expansion. The power transmission network and apparatus including lines and towers are also aging with time. Furthermore, the transmission network covers a large geographical area which is expensive to maintain. The objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of power network conditions on power network expansion planning. The condition of the power network is determined by the maintenance cost of lines and a health index and a risk factor associated with the tower. The investigation begins with answering how the inclusion of heat pump impacts the decisions on network interventions. Thereafter, the condition network is factored into the decision-making by better understanding the impact of the network condition on the overall expansion planning. Furthermore, many sensitivity analyses are conducted to evaluate the trade-offs between decision variables such as cost of heat pump, coefficient of performance of heat pump, risk factors, and line and tower costs.