A review of emerging techniques on generation expansion planning

Power system generation expansion planning is a challenging problem due to the large-scale, long-term, nonlinear and discrete nature of generation unit size. Since the computation revolution, several emerging techniques have been proposed to solve large scale optimization problems. Many of these techniques have been reported as used in generation expansion planning. This paper describes these emerging optimization techniques (including expert systems, fuzzy logic, neural networks, analytic hierarchy process, network flow, decomposition method, simulated annealing and genetic algorithms) and their potential usage in solving the challenging generation expansion planning in future competitive environments in the power industry. This paper provides useful information and resources for future generation expansion planning.