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• An operational reliability assessment approach of photovoltaic inverters considering voltage/VAR control function is proposed. • An inverter based voltage/VAR control optimization model considering uncertainties of photovoltaic power generation and loads is developed for further inverter reliability assessment. • The power loss model considering the voltage/VAR control results is developed and a modified lifetime model based on coffin-manson model and manufacturing information is proposed to assess the inverter reliability. • In some cases, the implementation of voltage/VAR control function may decrease the junction temperature variations of power devices inside inverters, which leads to positive impact on inverter reliability. • The lifetime of photovoltaic inverters utilized for voltage/VAR control function has high correlation with their locations in the distribution network as well as their oversizing rates. This paper proposes an operational reliability assessment approach of photovoltaic (PV) inverters considering a voltage/VAR control (VVC) function. The approach aims to quantify the reliability degradation and estimate the lifetime of PV inverters when they are utilized for the VVC function. Firstly, an inverter based VVC model considering uncertain profiles of PV power generation and loads is developed and it is solved by a stochastic optimization method. Then, a long-term reliability assessment procedure of the inverters utilized in the VVC model is proposed. To assess the reliability, a power loss model considering the VVC results is developed and a modified lifetime model based on Coffin-Manson model and manufacturing information is proposed. The proposed VVC model and inverter reliability assessment approach are verified on a 33-bus distribution network. The simulation results reveal the long-term impacts of additional utilization in the VVC function on operational reliability and lifetime of PV inverters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Steel production is one of the most energy-intensive industries on demand side. Highly distributed energy resource-penetrated multi-energy microgrids (MEMGs) with combined heat and power (CHP) units can supply both electricity and heat while the by-product coal gases during manufacturing can be reused for onsite power supply. However, there is a lack of coordination between steel production and MEMG operation, and the steelmaking process is not fully modelled. Thus, this paper proposes a three-stage coordinated operation method for steel plant-based MEMGs, aiming to minimize the total operating cost. In this method, the steel production is scheduled weekly-ahead to meet the production demand considering carbon emission reduction. Then, the CHP commitment and day-ahead energy transaction are optimized in a day-ahead stage, while the dispatchable device output and intraday energy transaction are determined hourly-ahead based on uncertainty realizations. Accordingly, the steel production is modelled as continuous and discontinuous processes in parallel or series. To tackle the uncertainty of renewable generation, a scenario-based stochastic optimization method is utilized. Moreover, different carbon prices are applied to investigate their effects on steel production. The results show that the proposed method can decrease the operating cost by 14.33% and 1.45% compared with the other two conventional methods. [Display omitted] • Three-stage steel plant MEMG low-carbon operation coordinated with process optimization. • Generalized continuous/discontinuous process modelling for steel production. • Uncertain intervals of renewable generation tackled with SO and SAA in different stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]