Impact of PV units in LV feeders on distribution system reliability

Re-supplying loads on outage through cross-connect from adjacent feeders in a distribution system may cause voltage drop and hence require load shedding. However, the surplus PV generated in some of the LV feeders can prevent load shedding, and improve reliability. In order to measure these effects, this paper proposes the application of Direct Load Flow method[1] in reliability evaluation of distribution systems with PV units. As part of this study, seasonal impacts on load consumption together with surplus PV output power injection to higher voltage networks are also considered. New indices are proposed to measure yearly expected energy export, from LV to MV and from MV to higher voltage network.

Battery energy storage systems to improve power system frequency response

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are becoming feasible to provide system frequency support due to recent developments in technologies and plummeting cost. Adequate response of these devices becomes critical as the penetration of the renewable energy sources increases in the power system. This paper proposes effective use of BESS to improve system frequency performance. The optimal capacity and the operation scheme of BESS for frequency regulation are obtained using two staged optimization process. Furthermore, the effectiveness of BESS for improving the system frequency response is verified using dynamic simulations.

An RFID-based traceability system

Traceability system in the food supply chain is becoming more necessary. RFID and EPCglobal Network Standards are emerging technologies that bring new opportunities to develop the high performance traceability system. This research proposes the analysis, design, and development of the RFID and EPCglobal Network Standards based traceability system that adheres to the requirements of global food traceability in terms of completeness of traceability information. The additional components, including lot management system and electronic transaction management system, encourage the traditional system in order to fulfill the missing information. The proposed system was developed and applied in a rice supply chain. Results from experimentation showed that the additional components can significantly improve the completeness of traceability information. The collaboration between EPCglobal Network Standards and electronic transaction management system can improve the performances in RFID operations.