Title: Optimal power flow technology in new power systems Theory, algorithms and applications

Speaker: Prof. Jiang Xiaodong, Cornell University, USA

Time: Friday, January 5, 2024, 10:00

Venue: Room A3101, University Town Campus

[Abstract]

The goal of an optimal power flow (OPF) is to determine the “best” way to operate a power system. Usually “best” = minimizing operating cost or system power loss, while operational and engineering constraints are satisfied.

According to a FERC of USA study, a good AC OPF solution engine can save tens of billions of dollars in the US alone every year. SuperOPF is a practical and powerful AC OPF solver, developed by Bigwood Systems Inc. under the sponsorship of Department of Energy, USA and several utility companies in the last 15 years. SuperOPF has been extensively evaluated on practical OPF models ranging from 15,000-bus models to Co-optimization problems with 250,000 control variables. Even though the theoretical foundation of SuperOPF is solid, it may occasionally fail to compute a AC OPF solution due to issues such as the non-existence of an OPF solution and bad initial starting points. To deal with these issues, we have developed theoretical foundation for feasible regions of AC OPF problems.

In this talk, a complete characterization of the feasible region of OPF problems will be presented. This complete stability property enables the development of solution methods for identifying the existence/non-existence of feasible solutions. In addition, practical applications of SuperOPF to large-scale power systems such as the Tokyo Electric Power Company, Tokyo, Japan, and PJM Interconnection, PA, USA will be illustrated.