Low-Carbon Distribution Network Expansion Planning Considering the Integration of Soft Open Point

Soft open point (SOP) can transfer active power between feeders and compensate reactive power, which help alleviate the operation challenges of large-scale renewable distribution generation (RDG) incorporation, and hence improve the integration capacity of RDG in low-carbon distribution network (LCDN). This paper presents a novel mixed-integer second-order cone programming model to address the expansion planning for the LCDN taking into account the integration of SOP. It co-optimizes the planning of RDG, SOP, capacitor bank, and energy storage system simultaneously with network reinforcement for minimizing the total economic and carbonemission costs over planning horizons. The potential on the economic-environmental benefits of the proposed planning methodology is studied via several test schemes on a 54-node network. The results demonstrate the effectiveness in improving the economy and mitigating carbon emission, when compared with the conventional planning paradigms.