Chapters authored
A New Ensemble Probabilistic Method for Short-Term Photovoltaic Power Forecasting
The high penetration of photovoltaic (PV) systems led to their growing impact on the planning and operation of actual distribution systems. However, the uncertainties due to the intermittent nature of solar energy complicate these tasks. Therefore, high-quality methods for forecasting the PV power are now essential, and many tools have been developed in order to provide useful and consistent forecasts. This chapter deals with probabilistic forecasting methods of PV system power, since they have recently drawn the attention of researchers as appropriate tools to cope with the unavoidable uncertainties of solar source. A new multi-model probabilistic ensemble is proposed; it properly combines a Bayesian-based and a quantile regression-based probabilistic method as individual predictors. Numerical applications based on actual irradiance data give evidence of the probabilistic performances of the proposed method in terms of both sharpness and calibration.
Part of the book: Sustainable Energy
Operation of Plug-In Electric Vehicles for Voltage Balancing in Unbalanced Microgrids
The widespread use of distributed energy resources in the future electric distribution systems represents both a challenge and an opportunity for all the Smart Grid operators. Among these resources, plug-in electric vehicles are expected to play a significant role not only for the economic and environmental benefits they involve but also for the ancillary services they can provide to the supplying grid. This chapter deals with real-time operation of unbalanced microgrids including plug-in electric vehicles. The operation is achieved by means of an optimal control strategy aimed at minimizing the costs sustained for the energy provision while meeting various technical constraints. Among the technical constraints, the optimal control allows guaranteeing the satisfaction of power quality requirements such as the containment of slow voltage variations and the unbalance factors. Case studies are investigated in order to show the feasibility and the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Part of the book: Development and Integration of Microgrids
Distributed Energy Resources to Improve the Power Quality and to Reduce Energy Costs of a Hybrid AC/DC Microgrid
This chapter deals with microgrids (μGs), i.e., a group of interconnected loads and distributed energy resources that act as a single controllable entity with respect to the grid. The μGs can be classified into AC and DC μGs depending on the characteristics of the supply voltage, with both solutions characterized by advantages and challenges. Recently, hybrid AC/DC μGs have been developed with the aim to exploit the advantages of both AC and DC solutions. Hybrid μGs require being properly controlled to guarantee their optimal behavior, in both grid-connected and islanding mode. In this chapter, we propose an optimal control strategy for a hybrid μG to be realized in an actual Italian industrial facility. The control strategy operates with the aim to simultaneously minimize the energy costs and to compensate waveform distortions. The key result of the chapter consists in evidencing the technical and economic advantages of the proposed solution by means of real-time simulations of the hybrid μG performed through Matlab/Simulink development tool in the different conditions (grid-connected and islanding mode).
Part of the book: Development and Integration of Microgrids