Abstract

Power quality (PQ) issues, including weak grids, voltage transients, harmonics, notches, current imbalance, and voltage sags, are critical challenges in the textile industry. Even a brief power interruption can halt industrial processes, leading to substantial financial losses. This paper proposes a Model Predictive Control (MPC)-based Unified Power Quality Conditioner (UPQC) as a robust solution to mitigate these PQ disturbances in textile industry-integrated distribution grids. The proposed UPQC is designed to enhance voltage stability, suppress harmonics, regulate reactive power, and correct current imbalance, ensuring uninterrupted industrial operation. A key contribution of this work is the realistic modeling of a textile industry’s electrical network, replicating actual industry ratings to evaluate system performance. The proposed MPC-based UPQC is assessed through five case studies, addressing weak vs. strong grids, voltage transients, current imbalance, and voltage sags—the most significant PQ challenges in textile applications. Simulation results demonstrate that the UPQC significantly improves voltage profiles, reduces harmonic distortion, and effectively compensates for current imbalance. Compared to conventional Proportional-Integral (PI) controllers, the MPC-based UPQC exhibits superior performance in dynamic PQ disturbance mitigation and grid stabilization. These findings underscore the proposed system’s suitability for large-scale industrial deployment, offering a cost-effective and robust solution to enhance operational efficiency and grid reliability in the textile sector.

Abstract
Motivated by initiatives such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly SDG 1-Poverty Eradication and SDG 7-Clean and Accessible Energy, the search for solutions aiming to mitigate poverty has been recurrent in several studies. This paper main objective is to evaluate the dynamics of global research on the use of photovoltaic projects for poverty alleviation (PVPA) from 2003 to 2022. We use a bibliometric analysis to identify publication patterns and consequently list research trends and gaps of the area. A total of 336 publications from Scopus database are identified and complemented by a state-of-the-art study, where the articles are investigated and classified according to: Business model and financing and evaluation of PVPA results. The results show that PA is often associated with PV power and its application in rural areas. “Biomass” and “application in developing countries” have become a trend. Urban areas application, aiming to reduce poverty, and the need for a synergetic integration of energy and urban planning, to mitigate the risks associated with energy flow and efficiency, are the most relevant gaps identified. Most of the publications focus on macropolicies effects involving PV technology; papers on projects construction and ex-post are not identified.

Abstract
This article presents a methodology to estimate the evolution of QoS indices, based on investments and maintenance costs carried out in the DN. The indices were estimated at various disaggregated levels, including the global index, 3 different QoS zones (urban, semi-urban and rural) and 278 municipalities, thereby facilitating the mitigation of QoS asymmetries by allocating investments and maintenance actions to specific regions. To achieve this objective, an optimization problem was formulated to allocate investments and maintenance costs to municipalities with higher improvement benefit-cost ratios, potentially exhibiting lower levels of QoS. This methodology was adopted by the Portuguese DSO to establish the future investments plan from 2023 to 2027. The results demonstrate estimations of good performance, considering the stochastic nature of the phenomena affecting QoS (e.g. atmospheric conditions), which are included in this study, thus developing confidence levels for the global indices.

Abstract
Power-to-Hydrogen (P2H) clean systems have been increasingly adopted for Virtual Power Plant (VPP) to drive system decarbonization. However, current models for the joint operation of VPP and P2H often disregard the full impact on grid operation or hydrogen supply to multiple consumers. This paper contributes with a VPP operating model considering a full Alternating Current Optimal Power Flow (AC OPF) while integrating different paths for the use of green hydrogen, such as supplying hydrogen to a Combined Heat and Power (CHP), industry and local hydrogen consumers. The proposed framework is tested using a 37-bus distribution grid and the results illustrate the benefits that a P2H plant can bring to the VPP in economic, grid operation and environmental terms. An important conclusion is that depending on the prices of the different hydrogen services, the P2H plant can increase the levels of self-sufficiency and security of supply of the VPP, decrease the operating costs, and integrate more renewables.

Abstract
This paper aims to study battery response under two operation strategies to analyze the annual cycles and operation costs (revenues) via sensitivity analysis. A battery model that considers performance parameters (AC-AC RTE, DOD, and C-rates) for different technologies is approached to identify how these parameters influence battery behavior and revenue. Strategies refer to (A) energy arbitrage, EA, and (B) EA and the provision of tertiary reserve. Simulations conducted for real data from Portuguese electricity and regulation markets showed regardless of the strategy used, the annual cycles and revenue are dominated by the performance parameters, instead of price volatility. In addition, for batteries with higher C-rates, as the AC-AC RTE is reduced up to 80%, the annual cycles and revenues are significantly reduced to 50% and 45% respectively, regarding its ideal model (100% AC-AC RTE). For lower C-rates, the annual cycles and revenues are slightly reduced with AC-AC RTE reductions. Specifically, strategy B revealed that annual cycles and revenue could also be influenced by the capacity requirements and the control area where batteries are providing services. © 2024 IEEE.

Abstract
The energy sector transition to more decentralized and renewable structures requires greater participation by local consumers, which may be enabled by innovative models such as the setup of renewable energy communities (RECs). To maximize the self-consumption of local renewable energy generated by assets normally connected to the low voltage distribution grid, these RECs typically involve jointly owned assets such as collective photovoltaic solar panels (CPVs) and collective energy storage systems (CESS). This work proposes a novel mathematical model for a REC, accounting for three distinct economic approaches to the redistribution of collective benefits among community members. The main objective of this study is to understand how the participation of community members in collective assets (CAs) can help increase the fairness and equity of RECs. An illustrative REC case comprising members with individual and collective ownership of the assets is used to assess the proposed economic approaches. Extracting several answers, among them that the most advantageous configuration comes from agents with quotas in the CESS and CPV. An important conclusion is that depending on the selected economic approach, the social welfare and agent's revenue vary significantly. In any case, CESSs increase equity among REC members.