An investigation on the impacts of distributed generation curtailment regulations on distribution network investment

This paper explores the impacts that different energy curtailment regulations have on distribution network investment. Energy curtailment regulation is increasingly applied in distribution networks. An important aspect of curtailment regulation is its impact on the network expansion investment and the distribution generation (DG) penetration level. The main interest of this paper is in curtailments due to the distribution network constraints. Energy curtailment regulation in Germany and Sweden are used and modified in this paper as case studies. All the costs are obtained by a network investment model, which considers network constraints, fluctuations of generation and load, and regulatory settings. The main contribution of this paper is in the application of optimal power flow to regulation modelling, in the quantification of the impacts of curtailment regulations on network investment and in the conclusions drawn on the implications of different curtailment levels for different networks. The quantified results obtained by the developed model are presented in the case studies. In one case, when the curtailment level is higher than 8%, curtailing more DG does not decrease the investment in the network. In the other case, when the compensation price is one fifth of the electricity price, the network is reinforced so that no curtailment would occur.