Integrated Generation and Transmission Expansion Planning Through Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programming in Dynamic Load Scenarios

Edison W. Intriago Ponce () and Alexander Aguila Téllez ()
Additional contact information
Edison W. Intriago Ponce: GIREI Research Group, Electrical Engineering Department, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Quito 170146, Pichincha, Ecuador
Alexander Aguila Téllez: GIREI Research Group, Electrical Engineering Department, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Quito 170146, Pichincha, Ecuador

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 15, 1-33

Abstract: A deterministic Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programming (MINLP) model for the Integrated Generation and Transmission Expansion Planning (IGTEP) problem is presented. The proposed framework is distinguished by its foundation on the complete AC power flow formulation, which is solved to global optimality using BARON, a deterministic MINLP solver, which ensures the identification of truly optimal expansion strategies, overcoming the limitations of heuristic approaches that may converge to local optima. This approach is employed to establish a definitive, high-fidelity economic and technical benchmark, addressing the limitations of commonly used DC approximations and metaheuristic methods that often fail to capture the nonlinearities and interdependencies inherent in power system planning. The co-optimization model is formulated to simultaneously minimize the total annualized costs, which include investment in new generation and transmission assets, the operating costs of the entire generator fleet, and the cost of unsupplied energy. The model’s effectiveness is demonstrated on the IEEE 14-bus system under various dynamic load growth scenarios and planning horizons. A key finding is the model’s ability to identify the most economic expansion pathway; for shorter horizons, the optimal solution prioritizes strategic transmission reinforcements to unlock existing generation capacity, thereby deferring capital-intensive generation investments. However, over longer horizons with higher demand growth, the model correctly identifies the necessity for combined investments in both significant new generation capacity and further network expansion. These results underscore the value of an integrated, AC-based approach, demonstrating its capacity to reveal non-intuitive, economically superior expansion strategies that would be missed by decoupled or simplified models. The framework thus provides a crucial, high-fidelity benchmark for the validation of more scalable planning tools.

Keywords: power system planning; generation expansion; transmission network expansion; simultaneous expansion planning; mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP); dynamic load scenarios; optimal power flow (OPF) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/15/4027/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/15/4027/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:18:y:2025:i:15:p:4027-:d:1712459

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().