Integration of Active Operation into the Planning Phase of a Medium-Voltage Distribution Grid

The energy system is undergoing significant changes as part of the transition to a climate-neutral energy supply. This has a particular impact on distribution grids, which require new planning concepts and operational methods to integrate a large number of distributed generation units and flexible consumers. This paper investigates how linking planning with operation can improve traditional distribution grid planning. The proposed method includes traditional grid planning, minimizing the investment cost with a model for grid reinforcement by relocating typical ring structures and conducting active operations. The active operation is performed through an optimization problem containing the optimal scheduling of flexible loads, such as heat pumps (HP) and electric vehicles (EV), and distributed generation (DG), such as rooftop PVs. A case study is designed and performed using a benchmark MV-grid to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The presented results demonstrate how integrating active operation could lead to significant cost savings when planning MV distribution grids.