Title: “Smart Meter-Driven Approaches for PV-Rich Low Voltage Network Modelling, Operation and Planning”
Speaker: Prof Nando Ochoa Pizzali
Affiliation: University of Melbourne, Australia
Venue: MMCR, EE Dept
Date: 17th Aug 2023
Time: 4:00 PM
Abstract: Residential solar PV is installed behind the meter of mainly single-phase customers connected to three-phase low voltage (LV) feeders (e.g., 400V line-to-line). This means that for distribution companies to adequately quantify the impacts from reverse power flows due to excess solar PV generation, the corresponding electrical models are required. These models are critical when calculating voltages given the non-linear and unbalance nature of LV feeders. However, the task of producing electrical models of thousands of LV feeders is already a significant challenge for distribution companies around the world, which, in turn, makes the operation and planning of PV-rich LV networks even more challenging. It is in this context that the exploitation of historical smart meter data can not only help distribution companies with their modelling tasks but also provide radical alternatives to how they operate and plan future PV-rich LV networks.
This talk presents and discusses the findings of three advanced smart meter-driven approaches using realistic case studies from Victoria, Australia. The first enhances LV models. Using simplified three-phase voltage drop equations and multiple linear regression, it is able to estimate three-phase and single-phase line impedances which, in turn, allows for the quick and accurate calculation of customer voltages for operational purposes. The second, a more radical approach, goes model-free. It demonstrates that neural networks can be trained to capture the physics of three-phase LV feeders with dozens of single-phase customers; making it possible to have fast and accurate voltage calculations. The last one, from a planning perspective, also demonstrates that regression techniques and data from early solar PV penetrations can be used to quickly estimate the hosting capacity of LV networks without the need for complex and detailed network studies.
Bio: Prof Nando is a Professor of Smart Grids and Power Systems at The University of Melbourne, Australia, and Chief Scientist & Co-Founder at VoltMind. He is an IEEE PES Distinguished Lecturer, an Editorial Board Member of the IEEE Power and Energy Magazine, and an IEEE Senior Member. Previously, from 2011 to 2021, he was full and part-time with The University of Manchester, UK. From 2007 to 2010 he was a Research Fellow in Energy Systems at the University of Edinburgh, UK. In 2010, he also undertook an industrial secondment with the Edinburgh-based company Psymetrix Ltd (part of GE). He hold a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering received from UNI (Peru), and a Research MSc and a PhD in Electrical Power Engineering, both received from UNESP Ilha Solteira (Brazil).
