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Sustainable Smart Grids and Microgrids: Operation, Control, Protection and Security

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 14394

Special Issue Editors

Department of Management and Innovation Systems, University of Salerno, 84084 Salerno, Italy
Interests: smart grids; energy management; power systems; demand response
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We would like to invite submissions to a Special Issue of Sustainability on the subject of Smart Grids and Microgrids entitled “Sustainable Smart Grids and Microgrids: Operation, control, protection and Security”.

Due to environment concerns, energy security risks, and fossil fuel problems, many countries around the world have decided to increase the penetration level of renewable energy resources (RERs) in their energy networks. In addition to this, many countries are moving toward implementation of the smart grid concept, including microgrid and deregulation in their power systems to achieve reliable and secure operation of their power systems with a high penetration level of renewable energy resources. In future smart grids, keeping the operation in stable modes requires new techniques and technologies for better control and security assessment in such systems. Likewise, stability and security, which are the main issues in smart grids, should be well studied and analyzed. Moreover, new protection schemes are in demand in order to face any unexpected operation problems and contingencies in a smart grid environment.

In order to cope with ever-increasing operation and control complexity and security in modern and future sustainable smart grids, new architectures, concepts, algorithms, and procedures are essential. This Special Issue aims at encouraging researchers to address the technical issues and research gaps in smart grid and microgrid systems.

The topics of interest of this special issue include but are not limited to:

  • Smart grids and microgrids;
  • The design, modeling, and management of smart grids and microgrids;
  • Smart grid and microgrid reliability, sustainability, flexibility, and resiliency;
  • Smart grid and microgrid dynamics, stability, protection, and security;
  • Methodologies and applications of modern methods for the operation and control of smart grids;
  • Intelligent systems, solving methods, optimization, and advanced heuristics;
  • Modeling, planning, and operation of renewable energy resources;
  • Business models for different electricity market players;
  • Demand side management and demand response;
  • Sizing, placement, and operation of energy storage systems and electric vehicles;
  • Smart homes and building energy management;
  • Electricity market, electrical power, and energy systems;
  • Modeling, forecasting, and management of uncertainty in smart grids;
  • Microgrids and islanded networks;
  • Smart cities, smart energy, and IoT;
  • Modern power systems and renewable energy resources.

Prof. Dr. Pierluigi Siano
Dr. Hassan Haes Alhelou
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

32 pages, 10428 KiB  
Article
Effective Energy Management via False Data Detection Scheme for the Interconnected Smart Energy Hub–Microgrid System under Stochastic Framework
by Khalid Alnowibet, Andres Annuk, Udaya Dampage and Mohamed A. Mohamed
Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 11836; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111836 - 26 Oct 2021
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 1776
Abstract
During the last few years, attention has overwhelmingly focused on the integrated management of urban services and the demand of customers for locally-based supply. The rapid growth in developing smart measuring devices has made the underlying systems more observable and controllable. This exclusive [...] Read more.
During the last few years, attention has overwhelmingly focused on the integrated management of urban services and the demand of customers for locally-based supply. The rapid growth in developing smart measuring devices has made the underlying systems more observable and controllable. This exclusive feature has led the system designers to pursue the implementation of complex protocols to provide faster services based on data exchanges. On the other hand, the demands of consumers for locally-based supply could cause a disjunction and islanding behavior that demands to be dealt with by precise action. At first, keeping a centralization scheme was the main priority. However, the advent of distributed systems opened up new solutions. The operation of distributed systems requires the implementation of strong communication links to boost the existing infrastructure via smart control and supervision, which requires a foundation and effective investigations. Hence, necessary actions need to be taken to frustrate any disruptive penetrations into the system while simultaneously benefiting from the advantages of the proposed smart platform. This research addresses the detection of false data injection attacks (FDIA) in energy hub systems. Initially, a multi-hub system both in the presence of a microgrid (the interconnected smart energy hub-based microgrid system) and without it has been modeled for energy management in a way that allows them to cooperate toward providing energy with each other. Afterward, an FDIA is separately exerted to all three parts of the energy carrier including the thermal, water, and electric systems. In the absence of FDIA detection, the impact of FDIA is thoroughly illustrated on energy management, which considerably contributes to non-optimal operation. In the same vein, the intelligent priority selection based reinforcement learning (IPS-RL) method is proposed for FDIA detection. In order to model the uncertainty effects, the unscented transformation (UT) is applied in a stochastic framework. The results on the IEEE standard test system validate the system’s performance. Full article
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24 pages, 4465 KiB  
Article
A Cost-Efficient-Based Cooperative Allocation of Mining Devices and Renewable Resources Enhancing Blockchain Architecture
by Mohamed A. Mohamed, Seyedali Mirjalili, Udaya Dampage, Saleh H. Salmen, Sami Al Obaid and Andres Annuk
Sustainability 2021, 13(18), 10382; https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810382 - 17 Sep 2021
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 2230
Abstract
The impressive furtherance of communication technologies has exhorted industrial companies to link-up these developments with their own abilities with the target of efficiency enhancement through smart supervision and control. With this in mind, the blockchain platform is a prospective solution for merging communication [...] Read more.
The impressive furtherance of communication technologies has exhorted industrial companies to link-up these developments with their own abilities with the target of efficiency enhancement through smart supervision and control. With this in mind, the blockchain platform is a prospective solution for merging communication technologies and industrial infrastructures, but there are several challenges. Such obstacles should be addressed to effectively adopt this technology. One of the most recent challenges relative to adopting blockchain technology is the energy consumption of miners. Thus, providing an accurate approach that addresses the underlying cause of the problem will carry weight in the future. This work addresses managing the energy consumption of miners by using the advantage of distributed generation resources (DGRs). Along the same vein, it appears that achieving the optimal solution requires executing the modified reconfirmation of DGRs and miners (indeed, mining pool systems) in the smart grid. In order to perform this task, this article utilizes the Intelligent Priority Selection (IPS) method since this method is up to snuff for corporative allocation. In order to find practical solutions for this problem, the uncertainty is also modeled as a credible index highly correlated with the load and generation. All in all, it can be said that the outcome of this research study can help researchers in the field of enhancement of social welfare by using the proposed technology. Full article
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23 pages, 2177 KiB  
Article
Scenario-Based Stochastic Framework for Optimal Planning of Distribution Systems Including Renewable-Based DG Units
by Ashraf Ramadan, Mohamed Ebeed, Salah Kamel, Almoataz Y. Abdelaziz and Hassan Haes Alhelou
Sustainability 2021, 13(6), 3566; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13063566 - 23 Mar 2021
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2557
Abstract
Renewable energy-based distributed generators are widely embedded into distribution systems for several economical, technical, and environmental tasks. The main concern related to the renewable-based distributed generators, especially photovoltaic and wind turbine generators, is the continuous variations in their output powers due to variations [...] Read more.
Renewable energy-based distributed generators are widely embedded into distribution systems for several economical, technical, and environmental tasks. The main concern related to the renewable-based distributed generators, especially photovoltaic and wind turbine generators, is the continuous variations in their output powers due to variations in solar irradiance and wind speed, which leads to uncertainties in the power system. Therefore, the uncertainties of these resources should be considered for feasible planning. The main innovation of this paper is that it proposes an efficient stochastic framework for the optimal planning of distribution systems with optimal inclusion of renewable-based distributed generators, considering the uncertainties of load demands and the output powers of the distributed generators. The proposed stochastic framework depends upon the scenario-based method for modeling the uncertainties in distribution systems. In this framework, a multi-objective function is considered for optimal planning, including minimization of the expected total power loss, the total system voltage deviation, the total cost, and the total emissions, in addition to enhancing the expected total voltage stability. A novel efficient technique known as the Equilibrium Optimizer (EO) is actualized to appoint the ratings and locations of renewable-based distributed generators. The effectiveness of the proposed strategy is applied on an IEEE 69-bus network and a 94-bus practical distribution system situated in Portugal. The simulations verify the feasibility of the framework for optimal power planning. Additionally, the results show that the optimal integration of the photovoltaic and wind turbine generators using the proposed method leads to a reduction in the expected power losses, voltage deviations, cost, and emission rate and enhances the voltage stability by 60.95%, 37.09%, 2.91%, 70.66%, and 48.73%, respectively, in the 69-bus system, while in the 94-bus system these values are enhanced to be 48.38%, 39.73%, 57.06%, 76.42%, and 11.99%, respectively. Full article
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15 pages, 1402 KiB  
Article
A Novel Method to Enhance Sustainable Systems Security in Cloud Computing Based on the Combination of Encryption and Data Mining
by Qian He and Hong He
Sustainability 2021, 13(1), 101; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010101 - 24 Dec 2020
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2722
Abstract
Due to the increasing growth of technologies and the diversity of user needs in the field of information technology, the position of cloud computing is becoming more apparent. The development of computing infrastructure in any organization requires spending a lot of money, time, [...] Read more.
Due to the increasing growth of technologies and the diversity of user needs in the field of information technology, the position of cloud computing is becoming more apparent. The development of computing infrastructure in any organization requires spending a lot of money, time, and manpower, which sometimes does not fit into the operational capacity of an organization. Therefore, organizations tend to use such technologies to advance their goals. A fully open and distributed structure in cloud computing and its services makes it an attractive target for attackers. This structure includes multiple service-oriented and distributed paradigms, multiple leases, multiple domains, and multi-user autonomous management structures that are more prone to security threats and vulnerabilities. In this paper, the basic concepts of the cloud computing and its applications have been investigated regarding to the importance of security issues. The proposed algorithm improves the level of security in the cloud computing platform through data mining and decision tree algorithm. Low computational burden and client numbers independency help to effectively implement the proposed algorithm in reality. Full article
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22 pages, 5414 KiB  
Article
Active Distribution Network Modeling for Enhancing Sustainable Power System Performance; a Case Study in Egypt
by Ali A. Radwan, Ahmed A. Zaki Diab, Abo-Hashima M. Elsayed, Hassan Haes Alhelou and Pierluigi Siano
Sustainability 2020, 12(21), 8991; https://doi.org/10.3390/su12218991 - 29 Oct 2020
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3626
Abstract
The remarkable growth of distributed generation (DG) penetration inside electrical power systems turns the familiar passive distribution networks (PDNs) into active distribution networks (ADNs). Based on the backward/forward sweep method (BFS), a new power-flow algorithm was developed in this paper. The algorithm is [...] Read more.
The remarkable growth of distributed generation (DG) penetration inside electrical power systems turns the familiar passive distribution networks (PDNs) into active distribution networks (ADNs). Based on the backward/forward sweep method (BFS), a new power-flow algorithm was developed in this paper. The algorithm is flexible to handle the bidirectional flow of power that characterizes the modern ADNs. Models of the commonly used distribution network components were integrated with the developed algorithm to form a comprehensive tool. This tool is valid for modeling either balanced or unbalanced ADNs with an unlimited number of nodes or laterals. The integrated models involve modeling of distribution lines, losses inside distribution transformers, automatic voltage regulators (AVRs), DG units, shunt capacitor banks (SCBs) and different load models. To verify its validity, the presented algorithm was first applied to the unbalanced IEEE 37-node standard feeder in both passive and active states. Moreover, the algorithm was then applied to a balanced 22 kV real distribution network as a case study. The selected network is located in a remote area in the western desert of Upper Egypt, far away from the Egyptian unified national grid. Accordingly, the paper examines the current and future situation of the Egyptian electricity market. Comparison studies between the performance of the proposed ADNs and the classical PDNs are discussed. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed ADNs in preserving the network assets, improving the system performance and minimizing the power losses. Full article
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