Using multi-objective optimal power flow for reducing magnetic fields from power lines

Abstract Over the past several years, concerns have been raised over the possibility that the exposure to 50/60 Hz electromagnetic fields (EMFs) from power lines, substations, and other power sources may have detrimental health effects on living organisms. As a result of these concerns, some European States, as Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and Estonia, have set limits, which are more stringent then the Council Recommendation making reference to the precautionary principle. This stricter legislation is leading not only to an ambiguous legal situation but, above all, to controversy, delay, and costs increases in the construction of utility lines and facilities. Consequently, a number of techniques for mitigating EMFs associated with power lines have been proposed, but many of them are mainly applicable to future constructions and may not be appropriate for existing transmission or distribution lines due to high implementation cost. From these considerations, the study analyses the feasibility of using optimal power flow (OPF) for limiting EMF levels. The mitigation is obtained solving a multi-objective optimal power flow (MO-OPF) problem with a specific objective function for the EMFs. In order to validate the usefulness of the approach suggested herein, a case study using a modified IEEE 30-bus power system is presented and discussed.