• Energy Research
• 2016-2025close

This paper proposes a shared multi-stakeholder PV system for traction substations and nearby residential loads to reduce the need for storage, AC grid exchange, and curtailment. The residential stakeholders offer both the base electrical load and the solar panels installation space needed by the traction stakeholder, who brings the peak load and investments to the former. Two case studies were conducted for one year in the city of Arnhem, The cy=Netherlands, using comprehensive and verified simulation models: A high-traffic and a low-traffic substation. The results showed a positive, synergetic benefit in reducing the PV system's excess energy and size requirement for any type of traction substations connected to any number of households. In one detailed example, the multi-stakeholder system suggested in this paper is shown to reduce curtailment by up to 80% in moments of zero-traction load. Generally, the direct load coverage of a PV system is increased by as much as 7 absolute percentage points to the single-stakeholder system when looking at energy-neutral system sizes. This multi-stakeholders system offers then an increase in the techno-economic feasibility of PV system integration in urban loads. ; DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage

Low Carbon Technologies (LCTs), such as Photovoltaics (PVs), Electric Vehicles (EVs), and Heat Pumps (HPs), are expected to cause a huge electric load in future distribution grids. This paper investigates the grid impact in terms of over-loading and nodal voltage deviations in different distribution grids due to increasing LCT penetrations. The major objectives are the identification of the most severe LCT, grid impact issue, seasonal effect, and vulnerable distributional area, considering the physical models of the LCTs. It is concluded that Winter is the most hazardous for the future grid impact, characterized by nearly 3 times higher over-loading and 2.5 times higher voltage deviations during high HP penetrations, while suburban areas are the most vulnerable. Moreover, while HPs seem to have, in general, a greater impact compared to EVs, EVs cause more prolonged violations. While this work follows a bottom-up approach, using detailed physical models, aggregated national data has also been acquired, which is often used by top-down approaches. Different grid impact issues have been compared for the two approaches in terms of magnitude and duration. While bottom-up approaches generate more pessimistic results regarding the magnitude of the violations, results about the duration of the violations can be contradictory. ; DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage