Optimal placement of energy storage in distribution networks

Abstract

We study the problem of optimally placing energy storage devices in distribution networks to minimize total energy loss, focusing on structural results. We use a continuous linearized branch-flow model to model the distribution network. For the special case of a linear network, modeling a main feeder, we explicitly derive the optimal solution when all loads have the same shape and prove several useful monotonicity properties of the optimal solution. We illustrate through simulations that these structural properties hold approximately also on radial networks modeled by standard discrete nonlinear power flow models and even when loads have different shapes. We discuss how these structural results provide insight for the planning of energy storage devices.

Additional details