Abstract
With countries moving toward renewable energy sources (RES), the need for dispatchability and storage solutions has become more prevalent. The uncertainty associated with wind turbine (WT) units and photovoltaic (PV) systems further complex a system with a high level of intermittency. This work addresses this problem by proposing an operational planning approach to determine the optimal allocation of WT units, PV systems, and hybrid energy storage systems (HESS) in smart grids. The proposed approach considers the uncertainties of the RES and load demand, price-based demand response, and distribution static compensator (DSTATCOM) functionality of the RES interfacing inverters. The operational planning problem is divided into two subcategories: (1) optimal long-term planning and (2) optimal operation. In the first problem, probabilistic models of RES and load reflect on the sizes and locations of the used RES and storage technologies. This allocation is further optimized via the optimal operation of the smart grid. The proposed operational planning approach is formulated as a nested optimization problem that guarantees the optimal planning and operation of the RES and HESS simultaneously. This approach is tested on the IEEE 33-bus distribution system and solved using meta-heuristic and mathematical algorithms. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated using a set of case studies. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach optimally allocates the RES and HESS with a 30.4% cost reduction and 19% voltage profile improvement.