Optimal placement of WiMAX antennas for Active Distribution Network Planning

摘要

The communication system is an essential part of the modern distribution systems. The performances of active distribution systems and smart grid are very much reliant on the availability and resiliency of the communication medium. For these reasons, the communication system should be optimally planned in order to achieve a predetermined level of Quality of Service for a specific distribution network in a given geographic area. In this paper, an evolutionary multi-objective algorithm that is capable to find the optimal number, position and connection of WiMax antennas is proposed. The procedure, for the wireless operation of active distribution networks, is capable to find an optimal compromise between the capital expenditures for the communication system and the reliability of the active distribution system. The weather conditions, the major cause of signal attenuation besides the distance, as well as the availability of radio facilities are taken into consideration by the optimization algorithm with an original adaptation of international technical standards. The algorithm can be used by planners involved in the definition of short-medium term development plans of distribution systems towards smart grids and that are seeking how to implement intelligence and control in the system by maximizing the worth of money and without building costly infrastructures for the communication system. This work is the first step for the joint planning of both communication and power systems that, as recommended by CIGRE WG C6.11, is absolutely necessary to optimize investments towards the modern distribution business. The results of the application to a small real world case study confirmed the validity of the proposed approach.