Quantum mechanics (QM) can be understood as a set of rules that forms the basis for developing all quantum theories. One of these theories is quantum computation (QC), i.e., computation based on QM logic. It is believed that QC provides paths to the problem solution that may not be possible for classical computers. Therefore, it has received attention to solve complex computational problems in different areas. Most of the research efforts, however, have concentrated on problems in theoretical physics and computer science, leaving little attention to solve practical problems in industrial applications. This is particularly true in power system applications where QC is mostly unknown. This paper mainly aims to attract the attention of power system researchers/engineers to QC as a potential solution to address emerging computational challenges of power systems. To this end, the historical development of QC and its fundamental concepts are first described. Then, recent contributions to solving computationally-demanding power system problems such as AC and DC power flow (PF), contingency analysis, state estimation, electromagnetic transients simulation (EMT), fault diagnosis, unit commitment (UC), and facility location–allocation (FLA) problems are discussed. Unfortunately, power system researchers have not yet been able to convincingly demonstrate a quantum advantage in solving large-scale power system problems mainly because we are in the noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) era, where quantum devices are noisy and have limited quantum resources. However, it may be demonstrated in the future with technological advances and increased research efforts in the area.
Quantum mechanics (QM) can be understood as a set of rules that forms the basis for developing all quantum theories. One of these theories is quantum computation (QC), i.e., computation based on QM logic. It is believed that QC provides paths to the problem solution that may not be possible for classical computers. Therefore, it has received attention to solve complex computational problems in different areas. Most of the research efforts, however, have concentrated on problems in theoretical physics and computer science, leaving little attention to solve practical problems in industrial applications. This is particularly true in power system applications where QC is mostly unknown. This paper mainly aims to attract the attention of power system researchers/engineers to QC as a potential solution to address emerging computational challenges of power systems. To this end, the historical development of QC and its fundamental concepts are first described. Then, recent contributions to solving computationally-demanding power system problems such as AC and DC power flow (PF), contingency analysis, state estimation, electromagnetic transients simulation (EMT), fault diagnosis, unit commitment (UC), and facility location–allocation (FLA) problems are discussed. Unfortunately, power system researchers have not yet been able to convincingly demonstrate a quantum advantage in solving large-scale power system problems mainly because we are in the noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) era, where quantum devices are noisy and have limited quantum resources. However, it may be demonstrated in the future with technological advances and increased research efforts in the area.
Quantum mechanics (QM) forms the basis for quantum computation (QC), a paradigm that provides distinctive problem-solving abilities. Although quantum computing (QC) has demonstrated potential in theoretical physics and computer science, its practical applications, particularly in power systems, have not been thoroughly studied. The objective of this work is to highlight the use of quantum computing (QC) as a solution for addressing the rising computational difficulties in power systems. The text provides an introduction to the historical history and essential concepts of QC, and then explores its modern applications in solving intricate power system problems. The aforementioned subjects comprise the study of alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC)” power flow, contingency analysis, state estimation, modeling of electromagnetic transients, fault diagnostics, unit commitment, and challenges related to facility location-allocation.” Despite the existing limits of noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices, the potential of quantum computing to address significant power system concerns on a wide scale holds promise, mostly driven by anticipated advancements in technology and increased research endeavors.
Electric power systems provide the backbone of modern industrial societies. Enabling scalable grid analytics is the keystone to successfully operating large transmission and distribution systems. However, today's power systems are suffering from ever-increasing computational burdens in sustaining the expanding communities and deep integration of renewable energy resources, as well as managing huge volumes of data accordingly. These unprecedented challenges call for transformative analytics to support the resilient operations of power systems. Recently, the explosive growth of quantum computing techniques has ignited new hopes of revolutionizing power system computations. Quantum computing harnesses quantum mechanisms to solve traditionally intractable computational problems, which may lead to ultra-scalable and efficient power grid analytics. This paper reviews the newly emerging application of quantum computing techniques in power systems. We present a comprehensive overview of existing quantum-engineered power analytics from different operation perspectives, including static analysis, transient analysis, stochastic analysis, optimization, stability, and control. We thoroughly discuss the related quantum algorithms, their benefits and limitations, hardware implementations, and recommended practices. We also review the quantum networking techniques to ensure secure communication of power systems in the quantum era. Finally, we discuss challenges and future research directions. This paper will hopefully stimulate increasing attention to the development of quantum-engineered smart grids.
The rapid development of quantum computing has provided a ground-breaking tool for solving problems that are insurmountable on classical computers. In the power system domain, quantum computing is still in the nascent stage, with limited but ongoing studies. The Quantum Approximation Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) has been applied in solving several NPhard problems and can be further studied to address challenging problems in power systems. Key applications include contingency analysis, optimal power flow, and unit commitment, among others. With the significant integration of renewable energy, the intermittent nature of renewable energy introduces substantial volatility to the system. An overhead contingency analysis is required to evaluate the possible system outage scenarios, which will identify critical contingencies to maintain system stability. However, the contingency analysis is a prototypical NP-Hard problem, requiring substantial classical computation resources. In this work, QAOA is developed for theN−kcontingency analysis on line contingency as well as the general contingency scenarios, with the aim of minimizing the shedding of the power load while ensuring the power flow constraints. A tailored objective function is developed to encode theN−kcontingency condition as well as the power flow loss constraints into a problem Hamiltonian for QAOA computation. The developed method is verified on IEEE 9- and 14-bus systems compared with classical methods as the baseline. In addition, a QAOA parameter study including the number of QAOA parameters, the number of repetitions of the quantum circuits execution, and the number of iteration steps of the classical optimization algorithm, is conducted to offer insights for the parameter tuning under different problem sizes. This work is anticipated to establish a quantum framework for solving critical and complex power system problems in the Noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) era.
Abstract Computational complexities in modern power systems are reportedly increasing daily, and it is anticipated that traditional computers might be inadequate to provide the computation prerequisite in future complex power grids. In that given context, quantum computing (QC) can be considered a next‐generation alternative solution to deal with upcoming computational challenges in smart grids. The QC is a relatively new yet promising technology that leverages the unique phenomena of quantum mechanics in processing information and computations. This emerging paradigm shows a significant potential to overcome the barrier of computational limitations with better and faster solutions in optimization, simulations, and machine learning problems. In recent years, substantial progress in developing advanced quantum hardware, software, and algorithms have made QC more feasible to apply in various research areas, including smart grids. It is evident that considerable research has already been carried out, and such efforts are remarkably continuing. As QC is a highly evolving field of study, a brief review of the existing literature will be vital to realize the state‐of‐art on QC for smart grid applications. Therefore, this article summarizes the research outcomes of the most recent papers, highlights their suggestions for utilizing QC techniques for various smart grid applications, and further identifies the potential smart grid applications. Several real‐world QC case studies in various research fields besides power and energy systems are demonstrated. Moreover, a brief overview of available quantum hardware specifications, software tools, and algorithms is described with a comparative analysis.
The computational demands of modern power systems are increasing rapidly, posing significant challenges to conventional computing approaches. Traditional methods may not be sufficient to handle the scale and complexity of future power grid operations. In this context, quantum computing (QC) emerges as a potential next-generation solution to address these limitations. Empowered with the quantum mechanics principles such as qubits, superposition and entanglement, QC can be used to efficiently handle the complex computation problems of large-scale grids. Building on this potential, our paper reviews the existing research done in regard to QC applications in smart grids and classifies them on the basis of three core QC's advantages namely - optimization, big data forecasting and security. In the end, we discuss the current challenges associated with employing QC in smart grids.
Innovative solutions and developments are being inspected to tackle rising electrical power demand to be supplied by clean forms of energy. The integration of renewable energy generations, varying nature loads, importance of active role of distribution system and consumer participation in grid operation has changed the landscape of classical power grids. Implementation of smarter applications to plan, monitor, operate the grid safely are deemed paramount for efficient, secure and reliable functioning of grid. These smarter applications for modern power systems demand capabilities such as real-time monitoring, dynamic security analysis, stochastic power flow calculations, large-scale data analytics, and high-dimensional combinatorial and constrained optimization. Although sophisticated computations to process gigantic volume of data to produce useful information in a time critical manner is the paradigm of future grid operations, these enhanced functionalities impose significantly higher computational demands compared to traditional approaches used in conventional power systems. Advancements in quantum technologies holds promising solution for dealing with demanding computational complexity of power system related applications. In this article, we lay out clear motivations for seeking quantum solutions for solving computational burden challenges associated with power system applications. Next, we present the fundamental principles of quantum computing, introduce key quantum algorithms, and offer a comparison of the computational load between classical and quantum approaches for few important mathematical problems, indicating their relevance to various power system applications. Additionally, we provide an overview of quantum solutions for various power system related applications available in current literature and suggest future topics for research. We further highlight challenges with existing quantum solutions for exploiting full quantum capabilities. To this end, this article serves as a bridge for power engineers to the quantum domain by outlining fundamental principles of quantum computation, facilitating a smoother transition to the future of power system computations and also provides quantum experts with insights into new application areas for quantum computing within power systems.