System service provision capabilities of storage devices connected to a MV distribution network: A Northern Ireland case study

Investigation of ancillary service provision capabilities of storage devices is an important area of research in the context of smart grids. This paper presents the preliminary results of a case study conducted in collaboration with Northern Ireland's distribution network operator for exploring system service provision capabilities of storage devices. Using PMU data from a local substation, the study first identifies potential voltage and/or line loading violations owing to injections from planned DG connections in an 11kV MV distribution network. A MATLAB based multi-period, security-constrained optimization formulation is then proposed for calculating optimal storage dispatches while minimizing DG curtailment as well as storage operation costs. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is verified by feeding back the optimization outputs into the test distribution network modelled in NEPLAN. Results indicate that both active and reactive power outputs of the storage inverters can be independently or simultaneously controlled for effectively relieving network violations.