Nomenclature

Abstract – In this study, a method for the low-carbon active distribution system (ADS) planning is proposed. It takes into account the impacts of both network capacity and demand correlation to the renewable energy accommodation, and incorporates demand response (DR) as an available resource in the ADS planning. The problem is formulated as a mixed integer nonlinear programming model, whereby the optimal allocation of renewable energy sources and the design of DR contract (i.e. payment incentives and default penalties) are determined simultaneously, in order to achieve the minimization of total cost and CO2 emissions subjected to the system constraints. The uncertainties that involved are also considered by using the scenario synthesis method with the improved Taguchi’s orthogonal array testing for reducing information redundancy. A novel cuckoo search (CS) is applied for the planning optimization. The case study results confirm the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method