Non-Wire Alternatives to Capacity Expansion
For utility planners, it provides a method to evaluate non-wire alternatives, but the approach is incremental (decomposition of known formulation).
The paper tackles the co-optimization of distributed energy resources (DERs) investment and operation with capacity expansion timing, solving a large-scale non-convex problem via Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition. It demonstrates the approach on a real campus planning problem.
Distributed energy resources (DERs) can serve as non-wire alternatives to capacity expansion by managing peak load to avoid or defer traditional expansion projects. In this paper, we study a planning problem that co-optimizes DERs investment and operation (e.g., energy efficiency, energy storage, demand response, solar photovoltaic) and the timing of capacity expansion. We formulate the problem as a large scale (in the order of millions of variables because we model the operation of DERs over a period of decades) non-convex optimization problem. Despite its non-convexities, we find its optimal solution by decomposing it using the Dantzig-Wolfe Decomposition Algorithm and solving a series of small linear problems. Finally, we present a real planning problem at the University of Washington Seattle Campus.