With the increasing integration of distributed generator (DG) and rapid development of power electronics represented by soft open point (SOP), distribution network is gradually transforming from passive network to flexible distribution network (FDN) comprising the role of energy collection, transmission, storage, and distribution. This research focuses on the issues of optimal operation of FDN with high DG penetration.  The motivation is to address the challenges in FDN, such as the wide range of participants, diverse operation objectives, flexible control modes, and obvious uncertainties in spatial and temporal dimensions. This research will fully explore the adjustment capability and potential benefits of FDN for flexible operation with high a share of DG. By providing the technical solutions for modeling, coordinated operation, and local implementation of control problems, it effectively facilitates the enhanced flexibility, efficiency and reliability of distribution networks under complex uncertain environments.

Dr. Haoran Ji is an Associate Professor with School of Electrical and Information Engineering at Tianjin University, China. He was supported by China National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents in 2019. He was a visiting scholar at Mälardalen University, Sweden. His major research interests include optimal operation of flexible distribution networks and distributed renewable energy resources. He has published more than 30 journal and conference articles and has been granted 15 patents of China. Three articles are ranked “Highly Cited Paper” by Essential Science Indicators (ESI). One conference paper has been awarded the best paper in 2017 IEEE PES General Meeting. He was awarded with Excellent Doctoral Dissertation of Tianjin University. He is the Principal Investigator (PI) of Youth Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China, China National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents, and Fellowship of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation. He is a Guest Associate Editor of Frontiers in Energy Research (IF: 4.008) and Topic Editor of Energies (IF: 3.004). He has served as Section Chair in International Conference on Applied Energy (ICAE 2020) and Applied Energy Symposium: Low-carbon Cities & Urban Energy (CUE 2020).