Impact of solar energy on the integrated operation of electricity-gas grids

Abstract

Photovoltaic energy is one of the clean and efficient energies which has been developing quickly in thelast years. As the penetration of solar plants is increasing in the electricity network, new problems havearisen in network operation. This paper models a high penetration factor of solar energy in the electricitynetwork and investigates the impact of solar energy growth on both the generation schedule of differentpower plants and in the natural gas transmission network. Fuel management of gas power plants ismodeled through simulation of the natural gas transmission network. To this end, an increase in thepenetration of solar energy in the electricity network inevitably leads to a sudden increase in the outputof gasfired units and a linear and integrated model with the electricity and the natural gas transmissionnetworks has been presented to analyze both of them at the same time to better depict the impact of ahigh penetration of the solar energy in natural gas transmission grids. In this method, natural gastransmission network and Security Constrained Unit Commitment (SCUC) are presented in a single levelprogram. Gas network constraints are linearized and added to the SCUC problem. The stress imposed onthe gas network due to a sudden increase in the load of the electricity network is investigated. Con-clusions are duly drawn.