In developing countries, electricity generation is often dominated by bulk and centralized power plants. Electricity travels for relatively long distances to reach the consumption site, so power quality issues appear, including high power losses and voltage drop. As a result reactive power compensation is required and therefore higher operation costs are applicable.
Distributed Renewable Energy Sources (DRES) provide an optimal solution for rural electrification in these regions, as the electricity is generated at the consumption site, avoiding power quality problems and additional operational costs.
However, due to the centralized structure of the legacy grid infrastructure, the hosting capacity of DRES is limited by power quality issues as well as overloading of power supply equipment.
TRACTEBEL has identified several flexibility options that can improve the DRES hosting capacity. In a simulation study now published in the International Journal of Smart Grid, TRACTEBEL’s team was able to show that the use of load tap changers and intelligent control can increase the uptake capacity for distributed renewable energy by a factor of up to 1.92.
More information can be viewed and downloaded as a PDF through the following link:
> 21st Wind & Solar Integration Workshop: “Impact of smart grid technologies on the distribution network in Uganda: A case study” Note: This paper (presentation file) was presented at the 21st Wind and Solar Integration Workshop and published in the workshop’s proceedings.