Integrated Planning of Generation and Hybrid AC/DC Transmission Networks

Currently, there is a growing interest in high-voltage DC lines (HVDC) for transmitting power from remote renewable energy projects. However, it is difficult to evaluate the suitability of those technologies, when compared to other generation and transmission expansion options, due to the lack of proper expansion planning approaches. Therefore, to deal with that issue, Generation Expansion Planning (GEP) and Transmission Network Expansion Planning (TNEP) models have been proposed. Those planning approaches have been traditionally addressed sequentially using linearized models, which do not consider important features such as HVDC links, network power losses, reactive power constraints, or voltage variables. That approach can lead to costly proposals due to oversized transmission expansion plans or high energy production and investment costs. In this research, a new methodology to assess the integrated Generation and Transmission Network Expansion Planning (GTNEP) is proposed, which takes into account the integrated planning of new power plants, and AC and DC transmission lines, for which the AC/DC optimal power flow (OPF) is used. The Iterated Greedy Algorithm (IGA) and a hybridization of Archimedes Optimization Algorithm with the Tabu Search (AOA-TS) meta-heuristic were implemented as a solution method. Important savings were obtained with the 6bus Garver test system using the proposed planning approach.