Distributed generation output control for network power flow management

The development stages in the output control of distributed generation (DG) for network power flow management are illustrated. The first stage requires an assessment of the location of thermally vulnerable components within the distribution network. This is achieved through the offline calculation of thermal vulnerability factors that relate component power flow sensitivity factors to component thermal limits. This directly informs Stage 2 - the installation of meteorological stations and component temperature monitoring equipment for network thermal characterisation. In Stage 3, steady-state component rating models are populated with real-time environmental information from the meteorological stations to generate component real-time thermal ratings. In Stage 4, the power flow sensitivity factors calculated in Stage 1 are embedded within a network power flow management system which, together with the component real-time thermal ratings calculated in Stage 3, is used to control the power output of DG schemes.