On Integrating and Operating Distributed Energy Resources in Distribution Networks: A Review of Current Solution Methods, Challenges, and Opportunities

The growing demand for electric power and the need for an energy transition that contributes to the reduction of global greenhouse gas emissions have driven the development of various energy generation, storage, and offset technologies. These technologies are known as distributed energy resources. Their integration into distribution power systems not only contributes to improving operating aspects, but also allows supplying electricity to areas that do not have access to large-scale power systems. Therefore, the integration and management of these resources has become a topic of interest, and several studies seek to optimize their impact on technical, economic, and environmental aspects. However, this optimization poses specific challenges related to the type and number of variables related to the operation of a distribution power system. This review article aims to describe the main challenges posed by three-phase AC three-phase distribution power systems under scenarios involving the integration of distributed energy resources. In addition, it presents some approaches proposed by different authors to improve the technical, economic, and environmental aspects of power grids. It can be stated that the strategies presented in the literature fail to consider scenarios that simultaneously integrate different types of technologies and optimize them while following a multi-objective approach and considering three-phase systems in a context of variable generation and demand. Therefore, future work in this field should address these aspects in a holistic manner, taking into account the computation efforts and processing times required by intelligent algorithms.