Assimilation of sustainable energy resources into the Smart Grid: Current advancements in the realm of information and communication technologies

Abstract

The Smart Grid (SG), an advanced electrical network, has completely altered the electrical power sector. Sustainable energy resources (SERs) are becoming increasingly important, making SG integration of SERs crucial for a more environmentally friendly and economically viable future. The SG utilizes state-of-the-art technologies to supply consistent and economical power. Due to environmental concerns and fossil fuel depletion, solar and wind power have gained in popularity. Renewable sources are progressively integrated into SGs. Intelligent information and communication technology (ICT) has increased grid integration of SERs through real-time monitoring and supply side coordination between demand response services and variable renewable sources. Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) combine small modular generation units near end-users to generate renewable electricity into utility grids in an integration-friendly way. Transmission line congestion and power generation greenhouse gas emissions are reduced by DERs. Virtual Power Plants (VPP) are another promising grid integration technique for SERs. VPP use machine learning algorithms and data analytics pipelines developed through stakeholder big data sharing to predict distributed grid conditions more accurately than human operators, improving stability factor throughout their trading areas at peak times when demand is high from various points. Modern information technology allows ground-up modeling of significant structured datasets with patterns, enabling infrastructure optimizations without replacements.