Chapter 10 - Particle swarm optimization applied to reactive power dispatch considering renewable generation

Abstract

The adequate management of reactive power control in the planning and operation of the electric power system, especially with the increasing penetration level of distributed generation, is a complex and important process. It can lead to voltage profile improvement and electrical losses minimization in the system when appropriate decision-making processes are held. This issue is highlighted with the intermittency of renewable energy resources (RES). For the sake of this, the current chapter presents a reactive power dispatch technique based on the particle swarm optimization (PSO) with the objective function of minimizing electrical losses. The proposed method addresses the adequate placement of RES, considering the system voltage stability and loss reduction criteria. To aid the PSO to achieve the objective function, an appropriate generator selection is performed by means of the tangent vector sensitivity analysis. In addition, voltage collapse indices, PV and QV curves, are applied to facilitate the evaluation of the operating conditions related to the voltage safety margin, aiding in the system planning. Simulations are held for a transmission system with RES and variable demand, employing the IEEE 118-bus–modified system.