1. Introduction
Electric power is one of the most critical and important substances for socio-economic development. Due to rapid economic development and increasing energy demand, many regions in China have been challenged by exacerbating power shortage, rising energy cost, and deteriorating environmental pollution resulting from excessive consumption of fossils for electric power generation. Particularly, spatial variations in various activities related to power supply and demand are responsible for numerous complexities in a regional power system that hinder effective management for such a system. Moreover, the introduction of renewable energy into power systems will intensify such complexities and lead to various uncertainties in the parameters, components, and processes in electric power systems [
1,
2]. Consequently, it is necessary to generate effective electric power management strategies with the use of renewable energy under uncertainties.
Distribution generation (DG) for power would bring significant benefits in diversification of energy resources. Renewable power sources of DG have been applied to electric grids in recent decades due to its advantages for environment and economic viability. Previously, many studies were undertaken for DG system planning. Porkar et al. made a distribution system planning framework to obtain the optimal DG management mode and scheme [
3]. Haghifam et al. got placement under minimum operational cost of DG units by considering the economic and technical risks [
4]. Sajjadi et al. proposed the optimization placement of DG units and capacitors in power networks [
5]. On the other hand, adoption of the DG system would be helpful to adjust the unbalanced electric power structure and mitigate the associated environmental issues such as air pollution and greenhouse gas emission (GHG) in China. However, in regional power management, extensive uncertain factors are associated with economic, environmental, policy and technical parameters (e.g., the imprecise fuel cost, changing price of electricity, uncertain electricity demands) [
6,
7,
8,
9,
10]. Such uncertainties would affect the related activities for power generation in a DG system [
11,
12,
13,
14,
15,
16]. Therefore, effective power generating schemes of a DG system are desired under various uncertainties. Several optimization methods were developed to deal with uncertainties in traditional regional electric power systems management under various uncertainties [
17,
18,
19,
20,
21]. However, few studies were reported to deal with uncertainties in the DG system planning.
Therefore, as an extension of previous research, the objective of this study is to develop a multistage distribution-generation planning (MDGP) model for supporting DG systems planning with clean energy substitution; the proposed MDGP will be applied to the city of Urumqi for supporting DG systems planning with emission mitigation, clean energy substitution and power-structure adjustment [
22,
23]. The MDGP model was formulated by integration of multistage stochastic programming method (MSP) [
24,
25], fuzzy-random interval programming (FRIP) [
25,
26,
27], and stochastic robust optimization method (SRO) [
28,
29,
30].
The integration of FRIP, SRO and MSP is rarely studied to reflect high complexities in energy systems because of its complexities and difficulties in calculation. The developed model is designed originally to deal with multiple uncertainties in the DG power system. The MDGP model will be proposed through integrating fuzzy-random programming into a multistage stochastic robust programming framework to address compound uncertainties and further reveal the associated reliability and risk for the DG power system. The proposed MDGP model will be applied to the power system planning in the City of Urumqi to illustrate its applicability. Moreover, in the development of the DG system model, the seasonal limits and grid-tied electricity will be considered, which help reduce the instability of renewable energy resources and promote the construction of renewable energy power. The results will help generate strategies under various structural adjustment requirements, multiple uncertainties, and climatic scenarios, which are valuable for supporting DG power system management.
4. Result and Discussion
The related economic and technical data of the system were acquired from reports of Urumqi Statistics Bureau and electric power yearbook. The optimized programming results for electric DG system programming are obtained from the MDGP model and would reveal the potentials and effects of energy replacement to regional electric system. Then, the analysis of results would explore the possibility of energy replacement in a DG system to meet regional power demands and emission reduction targets. Moreover, the solutions of the model would be expressed as intervals under different scenarios, which provide multiple alternatives to reflect the fluctuation of the response to variations in regional demands. On the other hand, the results describe that the patterns of regional DG system for power supply and demand would be relatively stable.
Figure 2 presents the total system costs of the DG system with two bounds under different scenarios. The net system cost has two extremes corresponding to different system conditions. The net cost of the DG system would increase as
λ increases. The net cost would be RMB¥ [2.046, 2.052] × 10
12, RMB¥ [2.046, 2.052] × 10
12, RMB¥ [2.047, 2.052] × 10
12, RMB¥ [2.060, 2.062] × 10
12, RMB¥ [2.060, 2.062] × 10
12 under scenario 1 with
λ levels of 5, 10, 30, 50, 70, respectively. In the euro case, the net cost would be € [259.638, 260.399] × 10
9, € [259.638, 260.399] × 10
9, €[259.765, 260.399] × 10
9, € [261.415, 261.668] × 10
9, € [261.415, 261.668] × 10
9 under scenario 1 with
λ levels of 5, 10, 30, 50, 70, respectively. In the dollar case, the net cost would be
$ [298.896, 299.772] × 10
9,
$ [298.896, 299.772] × 10
9,
$ [299.042, 299.772] × 10
9,
$ [300.941, 301.233] × 10
9,
$ [300.941, 301.233] × 10
9 under scenario 1 with
λ levels of 5, 10, 30, 50, 70, respectively. It reflects that the model possesses trade-off between system costs and stability. Then, failure risk of DG system would be lessened, and the decision feasibility would be enhanced as the
λ increases. On the contrary, the risk would be higher, and the decision feasibility would be lower as the
λ decreases. The results reflect that smaller costs may make higher failure risk and lower reliabilities. Higher system costs can guarantee lower system-failure risks and higher system reliabilities. Then, the decision-makers would face higher cost for more stable solution and lower cost for more variable solution. In addition, the total system cost would increase due to the expansion for scale of power replacement and renewable power generation. For example, with
λ = 70, the cost would be RMB¥ [2.060, 2.062] × 10
12, RMB¥ [2.444, 2.444] × 10
12, and RMB¥ [2.989, 3.008] × 10
12 under scenarios 1, 2, and 3, respectively. In the euro case, the net cost would be € [261.415, 261.668] × 10
9, € [309.983, 309.983] × 10
9, € [379.108, 381.716] × 10
9under scenarios 1, 2, and 3, respectively. In the dollar case, the net cost would be
$ [300.941, 301.233] × 10
9,
$ [357.101, 357.101] × 10
9,
$ [436.733, 439.509] × 10
9 under scenarios 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Moreover, the scale of power replacement and renewable electric power generation would be limited by the regional geographical factors. The cost of DG system would have a slight variation by imported and exported electricity from power grid with traditional power generation.
The whole study area would be divided to 3 programming districts. Each district would choose an appropriate renewable energy power generation mode to constitute the DG system of Urumqi. The appropriate renewable energy power generation mode would be confirmedby the request and limit of economy, environment and geography in each district. From the solutions of the programming model, the districts 1–3 would choose the wind power, solar photovoltaic power, and natural gas turbine, respectively. In case of insufficient DG system electric supply, electricity would be imported at a high price from power grid. On the contrary, superfluous DG system electric supply would be exported to power grid.
Figure 3 presents the optimal amount of renewable energy consumption for the DG system in each district. In the DG system of study area, a variety of techniques and renewable energy resources would compete for providing energies to different districts under various seasons and relevant district geography factors. The district 1 and district 2 would not have to pay the cost for energy purchases, due to the types of renewable energy resources of district 1 and district 2 (wind power for district 1 and solar photovoltaic power for district 2). In period 1, under lower bound, 89.54 PJ, 83.79 PJ and 86.98 PJ of pre-regular natural gas would be supplied to district 3 by domestic production and import. The results would correspond to the variations of the power generation in district 3. Then the variations of natural gas consumption under different power demand levels would be basically stable. For instance, in winter of period 2, under lower bound of scenario 3, the amount of natural gas consumption would be 116.53 PJ, 116.53 PJ, and 117.27 PJ under high-low (H-L) level, medium-high (M-L) level, and high-high (H-H) level, respectively. The amount of natural gas consumption would be 131.33 PJ, 131.33 PJ, and 133.20 PJ under high-low (H-L) level, medium-high (M-L) level, and high-high (H-H) level in winter of period 2 under upper bound of scenario 3, respectively. Although the amounts of pre-regular natural gas consumption in period 1 would have little variations from season 1 to season 3, the amount would have changes in season 2. It indicates that the natural gas consumption and power supply of district 3 would be sensitive in winter. The variations of natural gas consumption are mainly caused by the growth of regional power demands of district 3 and the price for power import from power grid.
Figure 4,
Figure 5 and
Figure 6 show the optimized electricity generation in a conservative condition (
λ = 70) for each district under varied scenarios. Although the renewable power generation in DG power system would vary as
λ increases, the resulting power generation would increase stably. Then, power generation would be fixed when λ = 50, 60, 70. It indicates that the renewable power generation would increase as the stability of the regional DG power system is enhanced. Thus, the failure risk of DG power-structure adjustment would be lessened as
λ values increase.
Generally, compared with the results with high robust criteria, the DG power generation would change as the variations of the district demand modes under different scenarios. In addition,
Table 2,
Table 3,
Table 4,
Table 5,
Table 6 and
Table 7 show the power generation in the condition of
λ = 70 for each district under different scenarios and seasons. For instance, in winter of period 1 of district 1, under the high demand level, the DG electricity generation would be 12.12 × 10
3 GWh, [14.41, 15.63] × 10
3 GWh, and [12.87, 15.91] × 10
3 GWh, in scenarios 1, 2, and 3, respectively; under H-M level (with the probability of 11%), it would be17.71 × 10
3 GWh, [21.86, 22.08] × 10
3 GWh, and 11.30 × 10
3 GWh in all scenarios of period 2, respectively. Wind power, solar photovoltaic power, fuel cell, and natural gas turbine would be the main ways to generate clean electricity for DG power system in a regional power system. Due to the technology selection, geography factors, energy resources, and environmental risk limitations, fuel cells in Urumqi would be unsuitable for each district during the planning horizon. Then, the district 1, 2 and 3 would chose the wind power, solar photovoltaic power, and natural gas turbine as the power technology in the regional DG power system.
Figure 4,
Table 2 and
Table 3 show the optimized wind power generation schemes in district 1 under
λ = 70. The district 1 includes Tianshan district, Shuimogou District, and Dabancheng District. The power generation schemes would show obvious seasonality. For example, wind power generation would be [18.01, 18.12] × 10
3 GWh, [14.19, 14.29] × 10
3 GWh, and [5.43, 5.52] × 10
3 GWh in season 1–3 of period 2 under the H-H demand level in scenarios 1. Based on the above analysis, the abundant wind sources in district 1 would provide stable base for wind power generation to DG system. Due to the technology, the capacity of wind power would be limited by wind speed. Then, the seasonality of wind speed and the power demand would determine the power generation under different seasons. On the other hand, wind power generation would be regular and stable under different regional develop modes (different scenarios). The power generation under different regional district develop modes would show obvious variations among each other. For example, under the high demand level, the pre-regulated wind power generation would be 12.12 × 10
3 GWh, 14.41 × 10
3 GWh, and 12.86 × 10
3 GWh under scenarios 1, 2 and 3 in summer of period 1. Then, in summer of period 2, the optimized electricity generation would be [18.02, 18.12] × 10
3 GWh, [21.98, 22.09] × 10
3 GWh, and [11.61, 11.71] × 10
3 GWh in scenarios 1, 2, and 3 under the H-H demand level. From
Figure 4, the electricity generation of scenario 3 would have a variation in season 2. The main reason would be that the wind speed of season 2 and season 3 has low and high stability, respectively. In the contrary, electricity generation stability of scenarios 1 and 2 would be reduced due to the power demand of different season. Therefore, the targets of different scenarios would impact the power generation of DG system greatly.
Figure 5,
Table 4 and
Table 5 show the optimized solar photovoltaic power generation schemes in district 2 under the
λ = 70. The district 2 includes Saybagh District, Xinshi District, Toutunhe District, and Urumqi County. The solar photovoltaic power would be chosen to get maximum electricity supply security in DG power system of district 2. The solar photovoltaic power generation schemes would also show obvious seasonality like the wind power in district 1. For example, under the H-H demand level of scenarios 3, solar photovoltaic power generation would be [25.36, 25.46] × 10
3 GWh, [17.81, 17.92] × 10
3 GWh, and [7.99, 8.09] × 10
3 GWh in season 1, 2 and 3 of period 2. Though the stability of the solar photovoltaic power technology has been improved, the power generation would be affected by different seasons. The main reason would be the seasonality of the solar photovoltaic source. The solar photovoltaic power capacity would be limited by the sun radiation intensity and the temperature. Then, the obvious seasonality and the power demand of each season would affect the power generation under different seasons. On the other hand, power generation would have different variations under different regional district develop modes (different scenarios). Along with the development of solar photovoltaic technology, the solar generation targets in scenarios 2 would be more mutative than in scenarios 1 and 3 under different season. For instance, under scenario 2, in period 2, the optimized electricity generation would be [25.36, 25.46] × 10
3 GWh, [6.71, 6.81] × 10
3 GWh, and [13.32, 13.43] × 10
3 GWh in H-Hdemand level. The electricity generation would be [25.36, 25.46] × 10
3 GWh, [17.82, 17.91] × 10
3 GWh, and [7.99, 8.09] × 10
3 GWh in H-H demand level of period 2 under scenario 3. The electricity generation would have an insignificant change in season 2 under scenario 2. The main reason would be the sun radiation intensity and the temperature in season 2. The sun radiation intensity of season 2 has low stability, and the temperature would be lower in season 2 than others. In the contrary, electricity generation of scenario 1 and 3 would reduce stably due to the power demand of different season. It indicated that different modes would impact the power generation of DG system.
Figure 6,
Table 6 and
Table 7 show the optimized natural gas turbine power generation schemes in district 3 under the
λ = 70. The main area of district 3 includes Midong District. The geographical factor of Midong District leads to inappropriate choice for the wind and solar photovoltaic power. The stability of wind and solar photovoltaic power in district 3 would not satisfy the system requirement and security. Moreover, the net cost of fuel cell power for district 3 would be higher than the net cost of natural gas turbine power. The natural gas turbine power would be reasonable under different scenarios. The power generation of scenario 3 would be [6.45, 6.56] × 10
3 GWh, [11.74, 11.83] × 10
3 GWh, and [1.61, 1.72] × 10
3 GWh under the H-H demand level in period 2. The power generation of scenario 2 would be [6.23, 6.33] × 10
3 GWh, [5.39, 5.50] × 10
3 GWh, and [1.61, 1.72] × 10
3 GWh under the H-H demand level in period 2. The power generation of scenario 1 would be [7.97, 8.08] × 10
3 GWh, [1.31, 1.42] × 10
3 GWh, and [1.61, 1.71] × 10
3 GWh under the H-H demand level in period 2. Although the optimal electricity consumption would have great difference, the generation would show the basic property of different scenarios. In addition, the result shows that the DG system has great flexibility ratio in the regional power replacement of renewable energy.
The renewable resource computation would bring very little emission. Then, the optimized results of power generation schemes would meet both regional energy system demand and emission reduction target. On the other hand, the abundant sustainable power resources of Urumqi provide great potentials for renewable power development. Therefore, Urumqi has the capacity to practice the renewable energy replacement with DG power system. To improve usage and capacity of green power generation, the decision-makers and planners would play driving roles to create more demonstration projects for promoting the development of regional renewable power system. The DG power system can also lead to a stable power pattern with substantial clean electricity. The solutions from MDGP can support decisions of renewable energy replacement, and pollutant emissions reduce under different district demand modes. The multiple solutions are effective to represent various options reflecting regional DG power system and environmental-economic tradeoffs.