Special Session Introduction

The massive connection of distributed energy resources (renewable generation, storage, electric vehicles, etc.) is the inevitable development direction of distribution systems, but also brings changes. Users are not only the consumers, but also the producers and responders of electric energy. Meanwhile, the randomness, intermittence and fluctuation of renewable energy have brought great challenges to the safe operation of the distribution network. The operation and planning will play an important role in building new distribution systems. It is necessary to build clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient new distribution systems with innovating the operation and planning mode.

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Technical Outline of the Session:

This special session focuses on a hot research topic, new distribution systems. The new distribution system characterized by high permeability distributed renewable energy connection, the influx of social resources under market reform, the emergence of new loads and the improvement of high-quality power supply-demand is an important part of the new distribution system, and its planning is facing unprecedented challenges. By optimizing the size and location of power equipment or operation mode of power transmission and transaction, clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient new distribution systems can be built. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to): 1) planning and operation of distributed generation, energy storage, electric vehicle infostructures, etc. 2) low-carbon oriented planning and operation method 3) market integrated planning and operation method 4) artificial intelligence-based technology for planning and operation of distribution systems 5) the new technologies in developing new distribution systems.

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Special Session Organizers

Yue Xiang, Associate Professor, Sichuan University

Yue Xiang received the Ph.D. in Power System and its Automation, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China, in 2016. Now, he is an associate professor in Sichuan University. His main research interests are distribution system planning and operation.

Miadreza Shafie-khah, Associate Professor, University of Vaasa

Miadreza Shafie-khah received his first PhD in electrical engineering from Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran. He received his second PhD in electromechanical engineering and first postdoc from the University of Beira Interior (UBI), Covilha, Portugal. He received his second postdoc from the University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy. Currently, he is an Associate Professor at the University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland. He is an Editor of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, an Associate Editor of the IEEE Systems Journal, an Associate Editor of the IEEE Access, an editor of the IEEE Open Access Journal of Power and Energy (OAJPE), an Associate Editor for IET-RPG, the guest Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE OAJPE, the guest editor of IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CLOUD COMPUTING, and the guest editor of more than 14 Special Issues. He was considered one of the Outstanding Reviewers of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, in 2014 and 2017, one of the Best Reviewers of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SMART GRID, in 2016 and 2017, and one of the Outstanding Reviewers of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER SYSTEMS, in 2017 and 2018, and one of the Outstanding Reviewers of IEEE OAJPE, in 2020. He has co-authored more than 420 papers that received more than 10000 citations with an h-index equal to 55. He is also the volume editor of the book "Blockchain-based Smart Grids", Elsevier, 2020. He is a Top Scientist in the Guide2Research Ranking in computer science and electronics, and he has won five Best Paper Awards at IEEE Conferences. His research interests include power market simulation, market power monitoring, power system optimization, demand response, electric vehicles, price and renewable forecasting and smart grids.

Ran Li, Associate Professor, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Ran Li received his PhD in electrical engineering and statistics from the University of Bath. He is now an Associate Professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. From 2015 to 2020 he was a lecturer at the University of Bath where he became a pioneering researcher in the research community of power system data analytics. In 2017 and 2018, he chaired Panel Sessions of Big Data at the IEEE PES General Meeting. He has been actively working with the UK power industry and regulator. He has been served as a consulting expert by Ofgem for the RIIO2 and established collaborations with Elexon, WPD, SSE, SP and National Grid.