The increased penetration of distributed generation (DG), renewable energy utilization, and the introduction of the microgrid concept have changed the shape of conventional electric power networks. Most of the new power system networks are transforming into the DG model integrated with renewable and non-renewable energy resources by forming a microgrid. Islanding detection in DG systems is a challenging issue that causes several protection and safety problems. A microgrid operates in the grid-connected or stand-alone mode. In the grid-connected mode, the main utility network is responsible for a smooth operation in coordination with the protection and control units, while in the stand-alone mode, the microgrid operates as an independent power island that is electrically separated from the main utility network. Fast islanding detection is, therefore, necessary for efficient and reliable microgrid operations. Many islanding detection methods (IdMs) are proposed in the literature, and each of them claims better reliability and high accuracy. This study describes a comprehensive review of various IdMs in terms of their merits, viability, effectiveness, and feasibility. The IdMs are extensively analysed by providing a fair comparison from different aspects. Moreover, a fair analysis of a feasible and economical solution in view of the recent research trend is presented.

In South Korea (RE PUBLIC OF KOREA ), there has been a recent increase in the deployment of renewable energy sources. Concerns regarding environmental impacts from traditional fossil-fuel generation resulted in a 227% increase in renewable energy in 2015, compared to 2008. The South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy is considering generating 20% of the nation's electricity using renewable resources by 2030, up from 6.2% in 2017, according to the Renewable Energy 3020 Implementation Plan (signifying that in 2030 there should be 20% of energy from renewables) and the Eighth Basic Plan for Long-Term Electricity Supply and Demand, which were announced in December 2017. To aid in achieving this goal, it is expected that the capacity of renewable energy equipment to be supplied by 2030 will be 48.7 GW.

In general, an autotransformer (AT) is used to improve the voltage sag and inductive interference in power lines and communication lines in the Korean AC electric railway feeding system. In particular, the Korean AT feeding system has a different configuration compared to those of other countries, such as Japan or France; therefore, it has certain distinctive characteristics. However, a fault locator imported from other countries have been used in Korea, and the settings of these equipment should be modified and reflect the distinct characteristics of the Korean AT feeding system. Thus, the development of a novel fault-location scheme for the Korean railway system is required. Herein, we analyzed the fault current and developed a specific relationship for use in our new algorithm. We presented the current magnitude of each branch, expressed by the boosting current of the ATs; further, the novel fault-location scheme using this relationship is developed. The novel scheme performance is verified through power system computer aided design/electromagnetic transients including DC (PSCAD/EMTDC) and the field measured data.

The use an inverter is one of the representative ways to utilize regenerative braking energy in railway systems. Due to the nature of urban railways that generate a large amount of regenerative energy, the economic advantages are clear. However, in the case of the existing inverter operation method, a method of operating the inverter using the threshold voltage is used, which has a disadvantage in that power cannot be utilized between the no-load voltage and the threshold voltage. Therefore, in this paper, we propose an optimal location selection method and capacity calculation method for installing a regenerative inverter in an urban rail system, and a control method according to the train brake position to increase the regenerative energy utilization rate. First, the inverter capacity and location were selected by selecting the maximum regenerative energy generation for each substation section through the train performance simulation (TPS) based DC power simulation (DCPS). An inverter control method based on train brake position (BP method) is introduced. Finally, PSCAD/EMTDC, a power analysis program, was used to verify the proposed method. As a result, the use of regenerative energy by an inverter increased by about 62.6%, and more energy was saved at nearby substations through the BP method.

High-speed auto-reclosing is used in power system protection schemes to ensure the stability and reliability of the transmission system; leader-follower auto-reclosing is one scheme type that is widely used. However, when a leader-follower reclosing scheme responds to a permanent fault that affects a transmission line in the proximity of a generation plant, the reclosing directly impacts the turbine-generator shaft; furthermore, the nature of this impact is dependent upon the selection of the leader reclosing terminal. We therefore analyzed the transient torque of the turbine-generator shaft according to the selection of the leader-follower reclosing end between both ends of the transmission line. We used this analysis to propose an adaptive leader-end reclosing algorithm that removes the stress potential of the transient torque to prevent it from damaging the turbine-generator shaft. We conducted a simulation in actual Korean power systems based on the ElectroMagnetic Transients Program (EMTP) and the Dynamic Link Library (DLL) function in EMTP-RV (Restructured Version) to realize the proposed algorithm.