An emerging complex network approach for grid analysis

The evolution of traditional power grids into smart grids is becoming a crucial challenge in recent years. Resources we mostly depend upon, such as oil and coal, are not going to last forever. Even renewable energies, always considered part of the solution, are not integrated enough to significantly contribute to the normal daily production. The concept of a new grid, designed to constantly monitor demand/supply of the system and able to send energy only where and when it is actually needed, has to be developed in order to overcome all the lacks and waste that affect the current systems. However, the transformation process needed to achieve this future vision is slow, difficult and several issues must be solved. In this paper, we use the model of our regional power grid to test how it works and to spot any potential weaknesses. We perform some complex network analysis on the entire grid in order to classify it and calculate betweenness on single nodes to spot the hubs. Using an optimization algorithm we also analyse the grid behaviour under harsh conditions and the influence of renewables in our system.