Distribution grid planning and operational principles for EV mass roll-out while enabling DER integration

Project partners involved Armin Gaul / RWE Luís Silvestre / EDP Type (Distribution level)  PU, Public  PP, Restricted to other program participants (including the Commission Services)  RE, Restricted to other a group specified by the consortium (including the Commission Services)  CO, Confidential, only for members of the consortium (including the Commission Services) Executive Summary The scope of the WP4 is to design and develop a new distribution planning tool prototype. This prototype will be based on several methods and models developed by the different PlanGridEV partners involved in this WP. The planning tool must address the new challenges of distribution, mainly dealing with the increased levels of uncertainty of the system and the new trends in observability and controllability of the network. The increased levels of penetration of Distributed Generation (DG) accompanied by perspectives of increased load, for instance, with the integration of heat pumps and Electric Vehicles (EVs) are introducing major uncertainties to the planning activity. Typical planning rules explore the worst case scenarios, which in the context of the increased uncertainty may lead to overinvestment. Furthermore, today's vision for distribution grids introduces greater levels of observability and controllability into distribution, implying a transition from passive grids to active grids. The so called smart grids bring benefits that are currently not considered by the distribution planning tools. Such fact does not allow the clear identification and understanding of the real benefits of having a number of different control options, such as demand response, EV charging control or DG modulation. All these options rely on proper ICT infrastructures, for which investment must be made and should be foreseen, having an impact on the expansion plans. Finally, due to these changes, new stakeholders are rising as conceivable investors in distribution planning, more specifically in the ICT assets for demand response activation. New business models that are being developed must be studied and the prototype tool should be able to test and capture the different dynamics that these new models bring for expansion planning. This deliverable provides the high level functionalities and guidelines for the development of the WP4 prototype tool. The goal is to aid distribution planning activity in the development of grid expansion plans. The scope of the prototype will not simply be to aid distribution companies to develop their networks, but also to be able to evaluate and/or integrate other stakeholders' perspectives in this activity. …