Double-uncertainty optimal operation of hybrid AC/DC microgrids with high proportion of intermittent energy sources

This paper applies double-uncertainty optimization theory to the operation of AC/DC hybrid microgrids to deal with uncertainties caused by a high proportion of intermittent energy sources.A fuzzy stochastic expectation economic model for day-ahead scheduling based on uncertain optimization theory is proposed to minimize the operational costs of hybrid AC/DC microgrids.The fuzzy stochastic alternating direction multiplier method is proposed to solve the double-uncertainty optimization problem.A real-time intra-day unbalanced power adjustment model is established to minimize real-time adjustment costs.Through comparative analysis of deterministic optimization,stochastic optimization and fuzzy stochastic optimization of day-ahead scheduling and real-time adjustment,the validity of fuzzy stochastic optimization based on a fuzzy stochastic expectation model is proved.

Experimental Investigation of the Stability of the Performance Characteristics of a Photovoltaic Module in the Face of Environmental and Meteorological Factors

The explosive technological improvement of photovoltaic systems as well as the necessity of populations to come to less expensive energy sources, that have led to an implosion at the level of solar panel manufacturers. This causes a large flow of these equipments to developing countries where the need is high, without any quality control. That conducted an experimental investigation on the performance characteristics of a 250 wp monocrystalline silicon photovoltaic module in other to check the verification and quality control. Most of these PV panels which often have missing informations are manufactured and tested in places that are inadequate for our environmental and meteorological conditions. Also, their influences on the stability of internal parameters were evaluated in order to optimize their performance. The results obtained at maximum illumination (1000 w/m2) confirmed those produced by the manufacturer. The analysis of these characteristics showed that the illumination and the temperature (meteorological factors) influenced at most the stability of the internal characteristics of the module in the sense that the maximum power increased very rapidly beyond 750 w/m2 but a degradation of performance was accentuated for a temperature of the solar cells exceeding 50°C. The degradation coefficients were evaluated at -0.0864 V/°C for the voltage and at -1.6248 w/°C for the power. The 10° inclination angle of the solar panel proved to be ideal for optimizing overall efficiency in practical situations.

Technologies for Efficient Use of Irrigation Water and Energy in China

While the shortage of water and energy is a well-recognized worldwide natural resources issue, little attention has been given to irrigation energy efficiency. In this paper, we examine the potential energy savings that can be achieved by implementing improved irrigation technologies in China. The use of improved irrigation management measures such as a flow meter, irrigation scheduling, and/or regular maintenance and upgrades, typically reduces the amount of water pumped over the course of a growing season. The total energy saved by applying these improved measures could reach 20%, as compared with traditional irrigation methods. Two methods of irrigation water conveyance by traditional earth canal and low pressure pipeline irrigation （LPPI） were also evaluated. Our study indicated that LPPI could save 6.48x 109 kWh yr1 when applied to 11 Chinese provinces. Also, the COz emission was reduced by 6.72 metric tons per year. Among these 11 surveyed provinces, the energy saving potential for two provinces, Hebei and Shandong, could reach 1.45 x 109 kWh yr^-1. Using LPPI, potential energy saved and CO2 emissions reduced in the other 20 Chinese provinces were estimated at about 2.97×109 kWh yr-1 and 2.69 metric tons per year, respectively. The energy saving potential for Heilongjiang, a major agriculture province, could reach 1.77× 109 kWh yr-1, which is the largest in all provinces. If LPPI is applied to the entire country, average annual energy saving of more than 9 billion kWh and average annual CO2 emission reduction of more than 9.0 metric tons could be realized. Rice is one of the largest users of the world＇s fresh water resources. Compared with continuous flooding irrigation, intermittent irrigation （ITI） can improve yield and water-use efficiency in paddy fields. The total increments of net output energy and yield by ITI in paddy fields across China could reach 2.5× 1016 calories and l07 tons, respectively. So far only a small part of agricultural land in China has adopted water and energy saving technologies. Therefore, potential water and energy savings in China by adapting improved irrigation technology could be significant and should be carefully studied and applied.

Assessing the evidence for weight loss strategies in people with and without type 2 diabetes

This review will examine topical issues in weight loss and weight maintenance in people with and without diabetes. A high protein, low glycemic index diet would appear to be best for 12-mo weight maintenance in people without type 2 diabetes. This dietary pattern is currently beingexplored in a large prevention of diabetes intervention. Intermittent energy restriction is useful but no better than daily energy restriction but there needs to be larger and longer term trials performed. There appears to be no evidence that intermittent fasting or intermittent severe energy restriction has a metabolic benefit beyond the weight loss produced and does not spare lean mass compared with daily energy restriction. Meal replacements are useful and can produce weight loss similar to or better than food restriction alone. Very low calorie diets can produce weight loss of 11-16 kg at 12 mo with persistent weight loss of 1-2 kg at 4-6 years with a very wide variation in long term results. Long term medication or meal replacement support can produce more sustained weight loss. In type 2 diabetes very low carbohydrate diets are strongly recommended by some groups but the long term evidence is very limited and no published trial is longer than 12 mo. Although obesity is strongly genetically based the microbiome may play a small role but human evidence is currently very limited.

Distributed generator-based distribution system service restoration strategy and model-free control methods

The rapid growth of distributed generator(DG)capacities has introduced additional controllable assets to improve the performance of distribution systems in terms of service restoration.Renewable DGs are of particular interest to utility companies,but the stochastic nature of intermittent renewable DGs could have a negative impact on the electric grid if they are not properly handled.In this study,we investigate distribution system service restoration using DGs as the primary power source,and we develop an effective approach to handle the uncertainty of renewable DGs under extreme conditions.The distribution system service restoration problem can be described as a mixed-integer second-order cone programming model by modifying the radial topology constraints and power flow equations.The uncertainty of renewable DGs will be modeled using a chance-constrained approach.Furthermore,the forecast errors and noises in real-time operation are solved using a novel model-free control algorithm that can automatically track the trajectory of real-time DG output.The proposed service restoration strategy and model-free control algorithm are validated using an IEEE 123-bus test system.

Swiss pumped hydro storage potential for Germany’s electricity system under high penetration of intermittent renewable energy

In order to cut greenhouse-gas emissions and increase energy security,the European Commission stimulates the deployment of intermittent renewable energy sources(IRES) towards 2050.In an electricity system with high shares of IRES implemented in the network,energy balancing like storage is needed to secure grid stability and smooth demand satisfaction.Pumped hydro storage(PHS) is at this moment the best option for large scale storage.Switzerland has strong ambitions to further develop their PHS sector and become the battery of Europe.In this research,the potential of the Swiss PSH plants is explored,whilst taking inflow into the upper reservoirs of the PHS plants into consideration.To simulate electricity imbalance,Germany is used as a case study.Germany already has a high penetration of IRES and has plans to increase installed IRES capacity.By using an energy planning model(Power Plan),three future scenarios of the German electricity system were designed,each with a different set of IRES installed(solar,mixed and wind).Results show that the Swiss battery ambition offers most benefits to a wind-oriented scenario,reducing both shortages as well as surpluses.Water inflow in Swiss PHS-reservoirs is of minor importance when looking at security of supply,although it was shown that the solarscenario profits more from inflow in terms of system stability.However,a potential conflict was observed in the solar-scenario between the need for electricity storage and the storage of natural inflow,resulting in more surpluses in the system when inflow was taken into account.

Regulating reserve with large penetration of renewable energy using midterm dynamic simulation

A novel renewable energy intermittency model and a new midterm dynamic simulation tool in power systems are developed for examining dynamic behavior along the load curve for different combinations of the system operation reserves and renewable portfolio standard(RPS)rates.The system’s import limits are considered.It is concluded that ignoring intermittency and governor effects is an inadequate method to assess intermittency impact.The intermittency midterm dynamic impact must be studied.For the studied system,the instability is expected to be about 25%RPS with current reserves.Besides,the most vulnerable peak hour to instability is the afternoon peak hour when solar begins to drop off.This article stimulates further dynamic intermittency studies on the issues caused by renewable intermittency.The studies on the issues caused by renewable intermittency have not been revealed because of inadequate/incomprehensive study methodologies so that effective,mitigative solutions can be developed to guarantee the reliability of power grid when incorporating higher RPS if high operation reserves are impractical.

Feature selection for energy system modeling: Identification of relevant time series information

Heuristic or clustering based time series aggregation methods are often used to reduce temporal complexity of energy system models by selecting representative days.However,these methods potentially neglect relevant information of time series(e.g.,distribution parameters).To identify relevant time series parameters,feature selection algorithms can be applied.The present research contributes by(a)developing a new feature selection approach based on clustering,nested modeling and regression(CNR)which is designed for applications requiring high selectivity and using different data sets,(b)comparing and evaluating CNR with feature selection methods available from the literature(e.g.,LASSO)and(c)identifying relevant information of the time series applied in energy system models,in particular those of demand,photovoltaic and wind.Results show that CNR achieves on average up to 101%lower mean absolute errors when methods are directly compared.Thus,CNR better identifies relevant information when the number of selected features is restricted.The disadvantage of CNR,however,is its high computational effort.A potential remedy to counter this is the combination with another method(e.g.,as pre-feature selection).In terms of relevant information,energy systems including photovoltaic are mainly characterized by the correlation between demand and photovoltaic time series as well as the range and the 35%quantile of demand.When energy systems include wind power,the minimum and mean of wind as well as the correlation between demand and wind time series are relevant characteristics.The implications of these findings are discussed.