Assessment of an Alpine Microgrid in a Ski Resort for Integrating RES and Electrical Mobility

In the Alps area, the ski-resorts are powered by the electrical distribution network, especially to ensure the snow making operations throughout the ski slopes. Such grids can be characterized by low capacity on one hand, whereas on the other one the line lengths are far from being negligible due to natural obstacles and altitude changes. These aspects result in remarkable voltage drops when feeding several power loads on the low voltage section. Basing on this, a smart redesign of alpine power grids is advisable for enhancing the grid operation, while at the same time enabling electric mobility and renewable energy exploitation. In this context, the evolution towards the alpine microgrid appears consequent for ensuring some important pros, such as power system safety, reliability and sustainability. The present paper is aimed at modeling the electrical distribution system installed in the ski-resort of San Vito di Cadore, Italy. After a power flow analysis, the voltage profiles will be carried out, focusing on bottlenecks and feasible options for the system optimization. Finally, some solutions will be proposed for increasing the power system smartness.