applied sciences Article Analysis, Evaluation and Simulation of Railway Diesel-Electric and Hybrid Units as Distributed Energy Resources Ana García-Garre and Antonio Gabaldón * Electrical Engineering Area, Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, 30202 Cartagena, Spain * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +34-968-338944 Received: 17 July 2019; Accepted: 29 August 2019; Published: 2 September 2019 Abstract: The objective of this paper involves the analysis, identification and evaluation of different possibilities offered by technology for the improvement and the management of the use of energy and hybridization in railways: On board generation, demand response and energy storage, both in traction and auxiliary loads, considering the aggregation of resources and its stochastic nature. The paper takes into account the importance of efficient use of energy in railways, both currently (trains in service, prototypes) and in the future, considering the trends driven by energy policy scenarios (2030–2050) that will affect service and operation of units during their lifetime. A new activity has been considered that will be relevant in the future in the framework of a new electricity supply paradigm: Smart-Grids. According to this paradigm, the interaction of the Electric Power System and the Railway Supply System (somehow embedded in the Power System) will bring new opportunities for the collaboration of these two systems to perform, in a wise economic fashion, a better and more reliable operation of the complete energy system. The paper is focused on a mixed profile with low-medium traffic (passenger and freight): The first part of the route is electrified (3 kV DC catenary) whereas the second part is not electrified.