Improving the resilience of power system operation - contribution of renewable energies in power system restoration

The reliance of modern societies on electricity has been increasing for more than a century. At the same time, there is increased awareness of threats arising from natural disasters as well as from human error and deliberate attacks. Furthermore, electric power systems all over the world are undergoing a rapid transformation from traditional top-down systems relying on central power plants to more diverse systems including flexible prosumers, dispersed generation and a high integration of information and communication technology. Even though it is highly desirable that electric power systems never break down and black-outs do not occur, this cannot be guaranteed for all extreme events. Therefore, the damage caused by possible black-outs has to be limited. In this article, we summarize these developments, the accompanying challenges and opportunities for power system restoration as well as proposed solutions from a resilience perspective.